Maruti to hike prices soon

The auto major in a recent regulatory filing stated that it will be increasing the prices of its entire model range this month amid the rising input costs.

“Over the past year, the cost of company’s vehicles continue to be adversely impacted due to increase in various input costs. Therefore, it has become imperative for the company to pass on some impact of the above additional costs to customers through a price hike. We have planned this price rise in April, 2022. The increase shall vary for different models,”, the company stated in its regulatory filing.

As of yet, Maruti Suzuki has not revealed any further details about the price hike on individual models in its portfolio, but MSIL has already hiked the prices of its vehicles by around 8.8 per cent from January 2021 to March 2022 owing to the constant increase in input costs.

Also read: Maruti Suzuki greenlights Jimny for launch in India

In other Maruti Suzuki news, recently rumours of the company launching the Jimny in the Indian market have been confirmed by Shashank Srivastava, executive director, sales and marketing, Maruti Suzuki. The marketing head revealed that they are indeed working on marketing plans for Jimny.

During an interview with Business Today TV, Srivastava said, “The option of getting Jimny to India is being considered. The company has taken market feedback and is currently evaluating market plans. The move comes at a time when Maruti Suzuki is looking to aggressively make its way into the SUV (sport utility vehicle) segment. The share of SUV segment has grown from 32 per cent to 40 per cent in the Indian car market, but Maruti Suzuki has only two vehicles in the segment — Brezza and S-cross. However, the industry has a total of 46 SUVs. There is a need to re-look at the SUV segment”

Suzuki is currently producing the Jimny at its Gurugram plant. Although the models being produced are the three-door variants which are also left-hand drives as they are exclusively being built for export. The Jimny has been highly received across the world, and due to its high demand, Suzuki is having trouble keeping up with production.

In addition, Maruti Suzuki will also be making various market-specific improvements to fit our country’s needs. For instance, they’re considering selling the 5-door Jimny in India because the three-door Jimny isn’t very practical due to its tiny size.

Suzuki will raise the Jimny’s wheelbase by 300 mm, resulting in a length increase from 3,550 mm to 3,850 mm and a wheelbase increase from 2,250 mm to 2,550 mm. To accommodate the back pair of doors, the wheelbase will also be lengthened. This will also help in easy manoeuvrability of rear seat occupants as in the three-door Jimny rear passengers have to slide the front seat forward and then climb to the rear seat which is a bit cumbersome.

The Jimny is currently available with a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that delivers 102 PS of maximum power and 130 Nm of maximum torque. It’s available with either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed torque converter automatic transmission. It comes equipped with a 4×4 drivetrain.

Also read: Upcoming 2022 Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza rendered