Planning to buy a Maruti Suzuki car? Prices set to rise by 4% from...

India's top automobile company Maruti Suzuki has said it will increase prices of its vehicles by up to 4% from next month. The carmaker has attributed the price rise to surging raw material and operational costs.
The percentage of price rise will vary depending on the vehicle model, the company said.

"While the Company continuously strives to optimize costs and minimize the impact on its customers, some portion of the increased cost may need to be passed on to the market," Maruti Suzuki said in a stock exchange filing.

The price hike follows two similar surges already made by the company in January and February.

Company's performance
Maruti Suzuki's share price rallied nearly 2% after the company's price hike announcement on Monday.
As far as sales are concerned, the carmaker sold a total of 1,99,400 vehicle units in February, recording an increase of nearly 1% from 1,97,471 units sold the same month last year.

Industry-wide trend
Maruti Suzuki's move mirrors an ongoing pricing trend across the the Indian automotive sector as carmakers struggle with ballooning production costs.
In December, Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), and JSW MG Motor had all announced hikes in their vehicle's prices.