India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki has hiked the prices of its premium hatchback Baleno in the range of Rs 12,000-20,000. Ex showroom price of Maruti Baleno RS petrol model will now be Rs 888,913 while the Baleno Alpha diesel model will cost Rs 873,221 in Delhi.
Maruti Suzuki’s January to March quarter earnings came in lower than expected with profits falling to Rs 1,795.6 cr from Rs 1,882.1 cr in same period last year, down 4.6%. Net Sales inched up by 0.7% to Rs. 20737.5 cr vs Rs 20594.3cr.
The earnings this quarter was marked by adverse foreign exchange rates and commodity prices, higher depreciation and higher sales promotion expenses. The company has declared a dividend of Rs. 80/- per share, the same as that of last year.
For the full year from April 2018 to March 2019 domestic sales increased by 6.1% to 1,753,700 units. Export sales fell by 13.7% to 108,749 units. As a result total sales only increased by 4.7% to 1,862,449 units. In the domestic market the mini and the mid segment cars saw double digit contraction in sales, while the LCV segment saw a jump of 138% in sales on a low base.