Buying a new car? Maruti Suzuki announces price protection for small cars till June 14 ahead of planned hike
Passenger car manufacturing giant Maruti Suzuki India Ltd on Tuesday announced a price protection scheme for its small car range which includes Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio, and WagonR.
The move comes after the automaker announced in May that it would raise prices across its model range by up to ₹30,000 starting June 2026. However, customers who book any of the listed small vehicles until June 14, 2026, will be shielded from the price hike, news agency PTI reported.
"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 of marketing and sales Partho Banerjee was quoted as saying.
According to the company, the scheme is intended to help maintain affordability for customers, particularly as vehicle prices are expected to rise amid inflationary pressures and an adverse cost environment.
First-time buyers are expected to be major beneficiaries of this scheme as it is a part of a broader effort to promote motorisation across the country, it added.
In May, Maruti Suzuki India had announced that it would raise prices of its vehicles across models by up to ₹30,000 from June 2026. The car maker cited inflationary pressures and adverse cost environment as the key reasons, although the exact quantum of change varied from model to model.
In a separate development, the company announced the launch of Suhana Safar, a recurring deposit (RD) backed auto loan product aimed at helping customers who may find it difficult to make regular EMI payments or arrange the required down payment for a vehicle purchase.
The initiative, inspired by similar programmes in the jewellery segment, cover four company models which include Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio, and Wagon R, the same category of vehicle covered under the price protection scheme.
This RD-backed auto loan 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.
Speaking of the programme's appeal among customers, the company said that it has received strong traction from people, with around 8,000 enquiries and more than 1,700 bookings to date.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited is the Indian subsidiary of Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corporation. It is the largest automobile manufacturer in India, specialising in small cars. As of June 2026, it commands a market capitilisation of ₹4.13 lakh crore, NSE data showed.
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