Maruti Suzuki freezes prices of entry-level cars for bookings till June 14

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Tuesday announced a price protection scheme for its small car range comprising Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio, and WagonR.

Under the initiative, the company, which had in May announced a price hike by up to ₹30,000 across models from this month, said prices of its small cars will remain protected for all bookings done up to June 14, 2026.

"On the feedback of our channel partners, we have announced a price protection scheme for entry customers. Their (channel partners) plea was simple: the customer who is stepping forward with courage to buy a car should not be pushed back by a price hike. So, we are considering a price protection window for small car buyers. If you book, we give you a cushion," Maruti Suzuki India senior executive officer, marketing & sales, Partho Banerjee said.

The move is designed to safeguard affordability for customers, particularly as vehicle prices are expected to rise amid inflationary pressures and an adverse cost environment, the company said.

The scheme is intended to benefit first-time buyers as part of a broader effort to promote motorisation across the country, it added.

In May, Maruti Suzuki India had announced that it would hike prices of its vehicles across models by up to ₹30,000 from June 2026 citing inflationary pressures and adverse cost environment, although the exact quantum of change varied from model to model.

In another development, the company said it has also introduced a recurring deposit (RD) backed auto loan product -- Suhana Safar -- to address the car-buying aspirations of customers who face constraints in paying monthly EMIs or making down payments.

The initiative, inspired by similar programmes in the jewellery segment, cover four company models -- Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio, and Wagon R.

The scheme allows customer to deposit interest-earning monthly instalments equivalent to the EMI of car in an RD account, which on maturity after a period of 3-6 months, can be use as deposit to make a down payment for a car loan from the same bank.

The programme has received strong response from customers, with around 8,000 enquiries and more than 1,700 bookings to date, the company said.

(Except for the headline, Fortune India has not edited the content of this PTI report.)