Maruti Suzuki India

Adds details from paragraph 2 onwards

Aug 21 (Reuters) - India's Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles TAMO.NS will raise prices of cars and SUVs across its portfolio by up to 25,000 rupees ($261.23) from September 1, the car maker said on Friday, with the extent of the hike varying by model and variant.

Here are some details:

• The Nexon EV maker said the price increase aimed to partially offset rising input costs and persistent commodity inflation amid continued geopolitical uncertainty.

• Indian automakers have increasingly raised vehicle prices this year as cost pressures persist. Rival Hyundai Motor India HYUN.NS on Wednesday announced its third price increase of 2026, while market leader Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS has implemented two portfolio-wide hikes in recent months.

• Auto makers have cited inflationary pressures, higher commodity prices, elevated operating costs, and disruptions to global trade and energy markets linked to the Iran war as factors driving up costs.

• The car maker said it had sought to absorb rising costs but was now passing on part of the burden to customers through the latest revision.

• The increase marks the auto maker's third price hike this year, after a 0.5% raise in its internal combustion engine portfolio from April 1 and a further 1.5% increase across its portfolio from July 1.

($1 = 95.7000 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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** Maruti Suzuki's MRTI.NS recent 0.5% price hike insufficient to offset persistent input-cost pressures, says Nomura

** Brokerage estimates automaker will need an additional 150-200 basis points of price hikes to meet consensus EBITDA margin expectations for FY27-FY29

** Says, cumulative FY27 price increases of about 0.9% remain below cost pressures of more than 300 basis points seen in the first quarter

** Nomura maintains its "neutral" rating on the stock and target price of 14,071 rupees

** Shares of Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS up 0.35% at 13,739 rupees

** YTD stock down 17.74%

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru)

(([email protected] | X: https://twitter.com/SurbhiMisra_ |;))

Updates to add details paragraph 2 onwards

Aug 19 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor India HYUN.NS said on Wednesday it will increase vehicle prices by up to 1% across its portfolio from September this year, with the extent of the hike varying by model and variant.

Here are the details:

• The company attributed the increase to rising input and commodity costs, higher operational expenses, and continuing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties

• Hyundai said it has been attempting to absorb cost increases and optimize expenses but is now passing on part of the burden to customers through a marginal price revision

• The latest increase marks Hyundai's third price hike announcement of 2026. The automaker raised prices by 0.6% from January 1 and in April announced a further increase of up to 1% effective May. That increase was later implemented from June 1, with prices rising by up to 12,800 rupees ($133.68) depending on the model and variant

• India's automakers have increasingly raised prices this year as cost pressures persist. Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS has announced two portfolio-wide price increases in recent months, while Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles TAMO.NS has also raised prices

• Automakers have pointed to inflationary pressures, higher commodity prices, elevated operating costs and disruptions to global trade routes and energy markets stemming from geopolitical tensions as factors weighing on costs.

($1 = 95.7525 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

(([email protected] | X: https://twitter.com/SurbhiMisra_ |;))

By Mike Colias

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Greetings from Detroit!

A pair of exclusive reports from Reuters underscores how much the Trump administration’s trade policies continue to reshape the factory networks of global automakers.

Ford said it would move production of some premium Lincoln models to the U.S. from China in coming years, including its Nautilus SUV. Imports of that model have been hit with 52.5% tariffs, prompting Ford to take steps to shift output to an undisclosed U.S. factory.

The move was notable for the message it sends to the Trump administration: we’re ready to build more cars on American soil.

CEO Jim Farley was so eager to make that point, he joined a Reuters interview with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to share the Lincoln-onshoring news. They told reporter Nora Eckert that automakers are falling in line behind the Trump administration’s push for more U.S. manufacturing.

At the same time, Detroit’s car companies are gearing up to lobby the administration to ease some proposed changes to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. At least two of the companies estimate the hit from the Trump team’s proposed changes – including a requirement for more U.S.-made parts on imported cars – could tack on $2 billion in extra costs annually.

Which brings us to today’s Auto File …

EV sales continue strong run

Car buyers continue to gravitate toward electric cars, prodded by high fuel prices stemming from the U .S.-Israeli war with Iran.

Global sales of fully electric vehicles, along with plug-in hybrids, rose 9% in July from a year earlier, according to data from consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. It was the fifth straight month of increased EV sales.

But sales have been uneven across the world’s largest car markets. European buyers are flocking to EVs and plug-in hybrids, while green-car sales in the U.S. and China have been declining from year-earlier levels.

Large European markets drove gains, including an 81% jump in France, 46% increase in Germany and a 43% gain in Britain. Benchmark attributed the increases to a return of tax subsidies for EV purchases in many markets.

The story is the opposite in the U.S., where the removal of a $7,500 tax credit last autumn has sapped demand. Sales in North America fell 27% in July from a year earlier. In China, where car sales overall are declining after years of growth, EV sales slipped 5%.

India blinks on its ethanol-heavy fuel policy

A top Indian government adviser said the nation should bring back a fuel variant with a lower blend of ethanol, the first sign that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could reconsider the controversial policy.

Modi's government started rolling out so-called E20 ethanol-based fuel nationwide last year to curb pollution and reduce oil imports. The move has angered some Indian motorists and triggered complaints over reduced fuel efficiency and wear and tear on cars.

India's Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said on Monday that offering a lower-ethanol variant would calm public concerns.

Days earlier, Reuters colleagues Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra reported that executives from top automakers Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra privately shared concerns about potential contamination of E20 fuel following extensive testing of fuel samples.

India's main auto lobby in late July submitted data to the government raising the concerns about E20, but days later withdrew its report, saying some figures needed more checks.

China’s e-truck exports zoom higher

Surging fuel prices from the Iran war have propelled exports of China’s electric trucks.

China’s exports of electric-powered heavy trucks, or e-trucks, roughly doubled in the four months following the war launched on Iran on February 28 by the U.S. and Israel.

E-trucks were already gaining momentum inside China, driven by subsidies and improved charging availability. Now, as high fuel prices prompt truck drivers globally to curb their expenses, China is supplying other countries with the big, battery-powered rigs.

Some of the spike in demand has come from South and Southeast ​Asia, which is especially reliant on the Middle East for oil supplies and has seen a jump in diesel prices.

Fast Laps

U.S. and Canadian trade negotiators are haggling over terms that could drop President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian vehicles to 15%, from 25%.

Chinese autonomous-vehicle developer Pony.ai says it is planning an overseas expansion of more than 4,000 robotaxis, including to four unnamed European cities.

The president of Canadian labor union Unifor said Jeep-maker Stellantis is considering a sale of its assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario. The automaker declined to comment.

Stellantis is recalling about 955,000 vehicles globally because a radio-software glitch could prevent rear-view cameras from working properly.

General Motors agreed to sell its 50% stake in an Indiana battery facility jointly owned with South Korea’s Samsung SDI, the latest automaker to pull back from the EV market.

Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also subscribe here.

(Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

By Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Hours after India made public assurances last week that its ethanol-blended petrol was safe, the country's main auto lobby withdrew a complaint about fuel contamination it had sent to the government a week earlier. The group said some figures needed more checks.

But separate communications between industry executives, reviewed by Reuters, showed that in the preceding days, top automakers Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS, Tata Motors TAMO.NS and Mahindra MAHM.NS discussed their concerns about contamination of petrol blended with 20% ethanol, called E20.

Their data compiled the most comprehensive fuel testing done by the industry since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government started rolling out E20 nationwide from last year to help curb pollution and cut oil imports.

With no other petrol available since April 1, consumer concerns have grown about the impact on vehicle performance.

The carmakers' emails show for the first time how they are privately worried about contaminants in E20, like chloride and moisture, which they say are hurting vehicles, even as they publicly back the government's rollout of the fuel.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) withdrew its July 28 letter on fuel contamination after a government and public uproar over the warning, saying "some numbers" need "authentication".

The previously unreported industry data and emails reviewed by Reuters show "multiple" automakers had already conducted extensive tests by collecting over 250 fuel samples from pumps over a year from as many as 21 of India's 36 states and territories. They found high chloride contamination in many of the samples in 18 states, as well as high moisture content.

The executives' emails raised no concern about data authentication.

Asked for comment on the private emails, SIAM told Reuters the data was intended only for internal circulation, discussion and validation, and collected by "very few" automakers.

Maruti, Tata and Mahindra, who were part of the SIAM internal emails seen by Reuters, account for 67% of India's car market.

As "the testing basis and sample size were insufficient to support definitive conclusions, the communication was withdrawn" as it was sent inadvertently, SIAM said, adding it intends to undertake a proper scientific study.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas did not respond to requests for comment. Its minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, said on Friday that two weeks prior to receiving the letter from SIAM, India's oil marketing companies had begun "rigorous testing" of fuel at retail outlets to check for contamination.

Only four cases of contamination were found, he said. State-run fuel retailers also said last week that extensive random and scientific tests showed "no cause for any alarm on account of fuel contamination".

Mahindra said conclusions drawn from its executive's emails "are completely baseless and incorrect", industry data is limited and preliminary, and it does not see issues with E20. Maruti and Tata did not respond to requests for comment.

AUTO INDUSTRY MET GOVERNMENT TO FLAG CHLORIDE CONCERNS

E20 has angered motorists, with hundreds alleging it has reduced mileage and increased wear and tear on their cars, and triggered at least one court challenge.

SIAM had earlier said high levels of chloride are corrosive for auto parts, while high moisture levels in fuel can immobilise a vehicle immediately after fuelling.

In the group emails exchanged among Maruti, Tata, Mahindra and SIAM, Maruti's senior executive Anoop Bhat raised concerns on the high chloride findings saying this had been privately discussed with the petroleum ministry on July 26.

The tabulated state-wide findings shared by the industry on group emails showed they recorded chloride levels of 6 to 570 parts per million (ppm) in Rajasthan state, 1.4 to 420 ppm in the capital New Delhi and 10 to 357 ppm in Maharashtra.

The Indian government says the permissible limit is 3 ppm.

The data tables also showed moisture levels reaching 13,000 ppm in Andhra Pradesh and 12,500 ppm in Uttar Pradesh, versus a permissible government benchmark of 3,000 ppm.

While the reason for contamination is not known, SIAM said in its now withdrawn letter it had seen an increase in chloride levels since the rollout of E20 and has requested the government to direct oil marketing companies to find the root cause.

For moisture, the SIAM letter noted, the cause could be inadequate "maintenance of the underground storage tanks and pipelines at retail outlets".

Maruti's Bhat wrote in his July 26 email that 1 ppm of chloride was the maximum that current fuel injectors, which transport fuel to the engine, "can tolerate".

"Lesser than 1 ppm in E20 is also in line with international standards. Same is in line with discussion held with" the petroleum ministry, Bhat wrote.

Mahindra's senior principal engineer of fluids technology, R. Ramaprabhu, said in emails that organic chloride is the contaminant responsible for the very rapid vehicle failures the industry is seeing and can spoil engines "within 200 km".

"Majority cases reported immediately after fuelling ... is due to organic chloride," he wrote, adding that Mahindra has "strong evidences" of fuel sample data from retail outlets.

Mahindra's Ramaprabhu and Maruti's Bhat did not respond to Reuters' queries.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Editing by Sonali Paul)

(([email protected]; X: @aditishahsays))

NEW DELHI, Aug 9 (Reuters) - India's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India MRTI.NS expects the domestic passenger vehicle market to grow to 6.1 million-6.3 million units by fiscal year 2030-31, driven by a revival in demand for small cars and a stronger sport utility vehicle segment, Chairman R.C. Bhargava said.

Maruti is reassessing its five-year growth targets as it expects the small-car segment to expand significantly faster than in the past five years, the company said in a statement on Sunday, accompanying its 2025/26 annual report.

Key points:

• Maruti sold a record 2.42 million vehicles and exported an all-time high 447,000 units in FY26, and expects to reach its next million-unit sales milestone earlier than previously projected.

• The company plans to invest about 350 billion rupees ($4 billion) to raise annual production capacity to 3.65 million vehicles by FY31.

• Maruti's board has approved an initial investment of 5.61 billion rupees to set up four biogas plants as part of its clean-energy strategy. Bhargava said biogas could reduce dependence on imported compressed natural gas and support India's net-zero goals.

• Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said Maruti plans to launch seven new SUVs over the next five to six years to strengthen its presence in the fast-growing segment.

• The company accelerated capacity expansion by adding 500,000 units of manufacturing capacity in FY27.

• Maruti is prioritising localisation, alternate sourcing and supplier capability development to mitigate geopolitical and supply-chain risks.

• Maruti said its relationship with parent Suzuki Motor Corp 7269.T has become "closer and more integrated", helping shorten vehicle development cycles and reduce costs.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah and Manoj Kumar; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

(([email protected]; +919810286200; Twitter:@manojgulnar;))

Aug 6 (Reuters) - Sales of vehicles powered by alternative fuels came within "striking distance" of petrol-powered vehicles in July, India's auto dealers' body said on Thursday, as fuel policy changes and high prices following the Iran war accelerated consumers' shift towards cleaner mobility options.

Alternative-fuel passenger vehicles, including CNG, hybrid and electric models, accounted for 40.59% of total sales in July, just 1.09 percentage points behind petrol-powered vehicles at 41.68%, the body said.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

(([email protected]; 8800437922;))

By Aditi Shah, Arpan Chaturvedi and Sarita Chaganti Singh

NEW DELHI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - India's auto industry said it would revamp numbers furnished to the government as it withdrew its first warning of damage to vehicle parts caused by contaminated ethanol-blended fuel, stoking consumer anger over the contentious policy.

Tuesday's move came hours after media reported the group's warning, sparking public uproar and forcing the petroleum ministry to issue a clarification.

"The referred numbers reported in the media need authentication," the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement, "... and therefore SIAM is withdrawing its earlier communication."

SIAM, which sent its warning on July 28, and the recipient, India's petroleum ministry, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

With their letter, seen by Reuters, India's automakers accept for the first time issues stemming from a mandatory policy that sparked street protests, legal cases and consumer anger after the government rolled it out at 90,000 fuel pumps.

The lobby group did not deny the issue of contamination in its statement, but said some numbers quoted "need authentication through collection of elaborate data ... across the country followed by a comprehensive consultation".

The group, whose members include Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Toyota Motor Corp and Mercedes Benz, did not say when the efforts would be completed, however.

QUESTIONS FROM VEHICLE OWNERS

Vehicle owners are at best sceptical about the U-turn.

"​Did the science change overnight, or did the ministry call?" Nachiket Deshpande, one of dozens of angry social media users, asked on X.

The policy of blending 20% ethanol in petrol to yield a product called E20 replaced E10 nationwide in 2025.

That was well ahead of a 2030 deadline as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government sought to cut costly petroleum imports, although E20-compliant cars had only begun hitting the roads in 2023.

The rollout provoked uproar instead among consumers who blame the fuel for mileage drops and vehicle damage, with many demanding a choice of lower ethanol blends, particularly for vehicles that cannot use E20.

The government sought to soothe the concerns with press statements and social media campaigns, drafting in executives from leading carmakers such as Maruti and Hyundai to defend the roll-out at a July press conference.

WARNINGS OF CORROSION OR WEAR

In its missive to the ministry, the group warned of elevated chloride and moisture levels in E20 fuel sold at retail outlets nationwide.

"Members are observing a huge increase in the issues in customer vehicle parts and replacement. Investigations ... reveal the failure is due to corrosion or wear caused by high chloride presence which is traced to the fuel used," it said.

Car parts in direct contact with the fuel or engine emissions suffered the most, "specifically after E20 implementation", it added.

It also flagged high moisture levels in the fuel that it said could immobilise the vehicle immediately after fuelling, calling on the ministry for tougher quality checks against contamination.

Fuel quality is monitored on a regular basis by oil marketing companies and only two cases of chloride contamination were found in a sample of 2,000 tests, the ministry had said on social media on Tuesday.

Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity on Wednesday, a senior government official called the fuel concerns a "misinformation campaign" against E20, playing out mainly on social media with no real evidence in cars on the road.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah, Arpan Chaturvedi and Sarita Chaganti Singh; Additional reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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** Maruti Suzuki India MRTI.NS reported a 10.8% fall in quarterly profit to 33.52 billion rupees ($351.44 million) on Friday but beat analysts' estimates of 32.22 billion rupees, as per LSEG-compiled data

** Shares up 0.21% at 13,947 rupees

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK IN FOCUS

** PhillipCapital ("buy", TP: 15,987 rupees) believes co's portfolio expansion, focus on addressing product gaps, emphasis on alternative fuel vehicles to guide long-term outlook

** Jefferies ("buy", PT: 16,500 rupees) expects margins to improve from low base of June quarter, led by price hikes and recent fall in aluminium prices but says "slow and insufficient price hikes have still weakened outlook"

** Emkay downgrades stock on concerns of sharp growth moderation in H2 with gradual margin improvement from Q1, flattish volumes compared to H2 FY26 and limited pricing power

** Emkay downgrades to "add" from "buy", TP lowered by 8.3% to 15,500

** Axis Capital ("reduce", TP raised to 12,850 from 12,800) says raw material headwinds to continue, putting pressure in Q2 exacerbated by inflation in steel, rubber prices

** Goldman Sachs ("buy", cuts TP to 16,700 from 16,900) notes recent correction in metal prices should flow directly to co's EBIT margin in Q2, when festive season volumes pick up

($1 = 95.3800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Saikeerthi in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; (+91) 8296756080))

Aug 1 (Reuters) - Maruti Suzuki India Ltd MRTI.NS:

• MARUTI SUZUKI - IN JULY 2026, MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LIMITED SOLD A TOTAL OF 241,421 UNITS.

Source text: ID:nNSE6fnFbR

Further company coverage: MRTI.NS

(([email protected];))

July 31 (Reuters) -

• MARUTI SUZUKI EXEC: APART FROM COMMODITY PRICES, HIGHER GAS PRICES ALSO IMPACTED MARGINS - CONF CALL

• MARUTI SUZUKI EXEC: SUPPLY SIDE WE SEE A HEADROOM OF ABOUT 10% GROWTH

Source text: [ID:]

Further company coverage: MRTI.NS

(([email protected];))

July 30 (Reuters) - Maruti Suzuki India Ltd MRTI.NS:

• MARUTI SUZUKI - STARTS COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION AT FOURTH HANSALPUR PLANT WITH 250,000 UNITS CAPACITY

• MARUTI SUZUKI - CUMULATIVE INVESTMENT AT HANSALPUR FACILITY STANDS AT 252.9 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE9Fw6cb

Further company coverage: MRTI.NS

(([email protected];))

An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Maruti Suzuki is selling fewer cars. It sold 1.82 million units in India in the latest fiscal year, up from a pre-COVID high of 1.73 million.

By Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI, July 20 (Reuters) - For some 40 years, Suzuki cars dominated India's roads.

The Japanese company's relentless focus on keeping prices and running costs low put millions of people behind the wheel. Hatchbacks made by its Indian arm Maruti Suzuki commanded between half and four-fifths of the country's new car sales in recent decades.

But as Indians got richer, they gravitated to bigger and flashier rides – and the automaker's emphasis on affordability started to become a drag. Maruti Suzuki's share of the world's third-largest autos market now lingers at around 39%, near an all-time low.

Suzuki's struggles reflect how cost-sensitive managers in Japan were slow to adapt to the changing tastes of newly affluent Indians, four people familiar with its business told Reuters. Executives, the people said, for years felt that demand for sunroofs, advanced technology and SUVs hadn't trumped questions of affordability for Indians.

Reuters is reporting for the first time details about the deliberations between Indian and Japanese executives at Suzuki as they struggled to pivot beyond a long-successful strategy that emphasized value before almost everything else.

Maruti Suzuki managers first floated the idea of adding sunroofs about a decade ago, the people said. But Japanese bosses considered the feature – which has become a symbol of upward mobility in India – impractical given India's extreme heat and dusty roads. They worried that adding a more powerful air conditioning unit and strengthening the cabin to accommodate the panel would increase costs and distract from Suzuki's mission of providing affordable transport.

The carmaker didn't introduce sunroofs until 2022. By then, fast-growing domestic rivals Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra — which both currently have a market share of around 14% — had sunroofs as standard features on between a quarter and a third of their cars sold in India, according to data from auto research firm JATO Dynamics.

This account of the missteps that eroded Suzuki's iron grip on India and its subsequent efforts to woo customers back is based on interviews with more than 20 people, including executives, suppliers and others with direct knowledge of the automaker and its Indian business. Most spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to talk to the media.

Maruti's head of corporate affairs, Rahul Bharti, said in an interview that Japanese managers were not reluctant to embrace the changing tastes of local customers. Instead, he said, they had prioritized factors such as cost and climate, as well as emissions and safety considerations.

Indian and Japanese executives engage in "extensive" talks before introducing products and new features, Bharti said. Maruti's market share had declined recently because of a collapse in demand for small cars, the automaker's slow rollout of SUVs and its 2020 decision to stop selling diesel cars, he added.

While it is committed to building affordable and compact models, Suzuki has now directed local managers to "pay more attention to the Indian customer," Bharti said.

Tata and Mahindra did not return requests for comment.

To be sure, Maruti Suzuki still runs a lucrative business in India. Revenue has more than doubled over the last five years to $19 billion and profit tripled to $1.5 billion as margins improved. About 60% of the 3.3 million cars Suzuki sold in the last financial year were in India, and Maruti contributed nearly half of its profits.

But while it is making more money, the company has fallen short of chief executive Toshihiro Suzuki's goal of owning half the market.

Maruti Suzuki also risks being seen by younger drivers as a "brand for their parents or grandparents," said Toshihide Kinoshita, an automotive analyst at Nomura Securities.

In India, the typical buyer of a new car is in their mid-30s. The average age in the United States is 51, according to data from Cox Automotive.

THE PEOPLE'S CAR

Japanese car manufacturers increasingly see India, the world's fastest-growing major economy, as a lifeline.

Many face an existential threat in traditional strongholds like Southeast Asia from the low costs and fast-paced innovation of Chinese rivals. They are also being squeezed by tariffs in the United States and slow growth at home as Japan's population shrinks.

Chinese EV makers, however, are largely shut out of India, which has increased scrutiny of investments from China after a deadly border clash between the two countries in 2020. Japanese carmakers sense the opportunity: Toyota and Suzuki have announced plans to spend a cumulative $11 billion to expand manufacturing and other operations in India by 2030.

Maruti Suzuki is now a symbol of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to turn India into a global manufacturing hub.

Suzuki first invested in Maruti in the early 1980s when the Indian brand was state-owned. Then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wanted to provide a "people's car" to fulfill the dream of her late son Sanjay, an autos enthusiast who had sought to bring affordable mobility to the middle class.

The Maruti 800 arrived in 1983. It was priced at around $9,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars and became synonymous with India's modernization. Over three decades, Maruti sold nearly 3 million of the small hatchbacks. Such was the scale of Suzuki's dominance in India that its former CEO Osamu Suzuki said he aimed to keep a 50% market share "for eternity."

India's economy has grown some 18-fold since Suzuki entered the market. Yet Suzuki's cost-control culture meant managers initially faced resistance when they lobbied to offer advanced driver assistance systems that Mahindra introduced around 2021, some four years before Maruti, three people said.

For many buyers, the modernity and aspiration that Maruti once represented is found in Tata and Mahindra's feature-laden SUVs, rather than Maruti's workaday models. Maruti does not have "the bells and whistles" that customers now want, said JATO Dynamics president Ravi Bhatia.

One erstwhile loyalist looking elsewhere is Anil Tiwari, who is seeking a car to supplement his family's 17-year-old Maruti Alto hatchback. The insurance agent has narrowed his choices down to a Mahindra or Toyota SUV after his wife and children demanded a sunroof and a large infotainment display, among other technologies.

"My wife and children want the best," he said.

FIGHTBACK?

Maruti has been here before. Its market share dipped below 40% in 2011, though newer models and an expanded sales network helped it recover.

This time, competition is fiercer. Better equipped rivals and the fall in market share mean Suzuki now faces its toughest situation in India "in the last 40 years," chief executive Suzuki told reporters at the Tokyo auto show last year.

In an attempt to regain dominance, Suzuki is expanding R&D teams at Maruti and giving executives flexibility to make more decisions locally, five people told Reuters. It aims to cut the average product development time to 36 months from 48 months, four sources added.

Maruti has also built more car-testing labs in India to speed up design and execution, Bharti told Reuters.

Maruti has introduced pricier and more design-forward cars, including a three-row minivan that starts at about $25,000. It plans seven more SUVs by 2030, which will join a recently released model that has a sunroof and advanced driver assistance systems.

The brand is also reversing its decision not to use large display screens in some vehicles, according to three sources, who said Japanese executives had felt they would be a distraction for drivers.

Bharti confirmed that Maruti and Suzuki executives had discussed those concerns. Large displays and similar features are always "on the cards," he said, though the company continues to weigh customer demand against the realities of Indian driving conditions.

One open question is whether Maruti's more expensive cars will sell. The brand's association with affordability means Indians willing to spend more usually don't consider Maruti, six people told Reuters. Less than 3% of Maruti's sales come from cars priced above $15,500, compared with over 21% for the rest of the industry, according to JATO Dynamics.

That perception is shaping the choice for buyers like Deepanshu Singhal, a sales executive who plans to upgrade to a Mahindra or Toyota SUV from the Maruti Dzire sedan he has driven for seven years.

"I'd rather spend a little more money for a better car that has some freshness and newness," he said.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Additional reporting by Daniel Leussink in Tokyo, Saurabh Sharma in New Delhi, Sumit Khanna in Ahmedabad and Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar; Editing by David Dolan and Katerina Ang)

(([email protected], X:@aditishahsays))

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd said on 21st July 2026 that it will raise prices of its vehicles by up to Rs 30,000 effective August 2026. The company cited a continuous sustained increase in input costs, despite ongoing cost reduction measures. The exact quantum of the increase will vary from model to model. The price hike follows months of inflationary pressures and an adverse cost environment, with the company stating it was constrained to pass on a portion of the higher costs to customers while keeping the impact on customers to a minimum.

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** Shares of car maker Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS rise as much as 1.04%, reversing intraday losses of 1.2%, after the company announces a price hike; close 0.61% higher

** MRTI will raise prices across its portfolio by up to 30,000 rupees from August, citing continuous increases in input costs

** Co had earlier announced a 30,000-rupee hike from June, offering price protection until June 14 on four entry-level models — the Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio and WagonR

** Stock down 18.4% YTD, underperforming the Nifty Auto index's .NIFTYAUTO 3.2% drop

(Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

(([email protected]; +91 9769003463;))

By Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI, July 20 (Reuters) - For some 40 years, Suzuki cars dominated India's roads.

The Japanese company's relentless focus on keeping prices and running costs low put millions of people behind the wheel. Hatchbacks made by its Indian arm Maruti Suzuki commanded between half and four-fifths of the country's new car sales in recent decades.

But as Indians got richer, they gravitated to bigger and flashier rides – and the automaker's emphasis on affordability started to become a drag. Maruti Suzuki's share of the world's third-largest autos market now lingers at around 39%, near an all-time low.

Suzuki's struggles reflect how cost-sensitive managers in Japan were slow to adapt to the changing tastes of newly affluent Indians, four people familiar with its business told Reuters. Executives, the people said, for years felt that demand for sunroofs, advanced technology and SUVs hadn't trumped questions of affordability for Indians.

Reuters is reporting for the first time details about the deliberations between Indian and Japanese executives at Suzuki as they struggled to pivot beyond a long-successful strategy that emphasized value before almost everything else.

Maruti Suzuki managers first floated the idea of adding sunroofs about a decade ago, the people said. But Japanese bosses considered the feature – which has become a symbol of upward mobility in India – impractical given India's extreme heat and dusty roads. They worried that adding a more powerful air conditioning unit and strengthening the cabin to accommodate the panel would increase costs and distract from Suzuki's mission of providing affordable transport.

The carmaker didn't introduce sunroofs until 2022. By then, fast-growing domestic rivals Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra — which both currently have a market share of around 14% — had sunroofs as standard features on between a quarter and a third of their cars sold in India, according to data from auto research firm JATO Dynamics.

This account of the missteps that eroded Suzuki's iron grip on India and its subsequent efforts to woo customers back is based on interviews with more than 20 people, including executives, suppliers and others with direct knowledge of the automaker and its Indian business. Most spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to talk to the media.

Maruti's head of corporate affairs, Rahul Bharti, said in an interview that Japanese managers were not reluctant to embrace the changing tastes of local customers. Instead, he said, they had prioritized factors such as cost and climate, as well as emissions and safety considerations.

Indian and Japanese executives engage in "extensive" talks before introducing products and new features, Bharti said. Maruti's market share had declined recently because of a collapse in demand for small cars, the automaker's slow rollout of SUVs and its 2020 decision to stop selling diesel cars, he added.

While it is committed to building affordable and compact models, Suzuki has now directed local managers to "pay more attention to the Indian customer," Bharti said.

Tata and Mahindra did not return requests for comment.

To be sure, Maruti Suzuki still runs a lucrative business in India. Revenue has more than doubled over the last five years to $19 billion and profit tripled to $1.5 billion as margins improved. About 60% of the 3.3 million cars Suzuki sold in the last financial year were in India, and Maruti contributed nearly half of its profits.

But while it is making more money from selling fewer cars, the company has fallen short of chief executive Toshihiro Suzuki's goal of owning half the market.

Maruti Suzuki also risks being seen by younger drivers as a "brand for their parents or grandparents," said Toshihide Kinoshita, an automotive analyst at Nomura Securities.

In India, the typical buyer of a new car is in their mid-30s. The average age in the United States is 51, according to data from Cox Automotive.

THE PEOPLE'S CAR

Japanese car manufacturers increasingly see India, the world's fastest-growing major economy, as a lifeline.

Many face an existential threat in traditional strongholds like Southeast Asia from the low costs and fast-paced innovation of Chinese rivals. They are also being squeezed by tariffs in the United States and slow growth at home as Japan's population shrinks.

Chinese EV makers, however, are largely shut out of India, which has increased scrutiny of investments from China after a deadly border clash between the two countries in 2020. Japanese carmakers sense the opportunity: Toyota and Suzuki have announced plans to spend a cumulative $11 billion to expand manufacturing and other operations in India by 2030.

Maruti Suzuki is now a symbol of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push to turn India into a global manufacturing hub.

Suzuki first invested in Maruti in the early 1980s when the Indian brand was state-owned. Then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wanted to provide a "people's car" to fulfill the dream of her late son Sanjay, an autos enthusiast who had sought to bring affordable mobility to the middle class.

The Maruti 800 arrived in 1983. It was priced at around $9,000 in inflation-adjusted dollars and became synonymous with India's modernization. Over three decades, Maruti sold nearly 3 million of the small hatchbacks. Such was the scale of Suzuki's dominance in India that its former CEO Osamu Suzuki said he aimed to keep a 50% market share "for eternity."

India's economy has grown some 18-fold since Suzuki entered the market. Yet Suzuki's cost-control culture meant managers initially faced resistance when they lobbied to offer advanced driver assistance systems that Mahindra introduced around 2021, some four years before Maruti, three people said.

For many buyers, the modernity and aspiration that Maruti once represented is found in Tata and Mahindra's feature-laden SUVs, rather than Maruti's workaday models. Maruti does not have "the bells and whistles" that customers now want, said JATO Dynamics president Ravi Bhatia.

One erstwhile loyalist looking elsewhere is Anil Tiwari, who is seeking a car to supplement his family's 17-year-old Maruti Alto hatchback. The insurance agent has narrowed his choices down to a Mahindra or Toyota SUV after his wife and children demanded a sunroof and a large infotainment display, among other technologies.

"My wife and children want the best," he said.

FIGHTBACK?

Maruti has been here before. Its market share dipped below 40% in 2011, though newer models and an expanded sales network helped it recover.

This time, competition is fiercer. Better equipped rivals and the fall in market share mean Suzuki now faces its toughest situation in India "in the last 40 years," chief executive Suzuki told reporters at the Tokyo auto show last year.

In an attempt to regain dominance, Suzuki is expanding R&D teams at Maruti and giving executives flexibility to make more decisions locally, five people told Reuters. It aims to cut the average product development time to 36 months from 48 months, four sources added.

Maruti has also built more car-testing labs in India to speed up design and execution, Bharti told Reuters.

Maruti has introduced pricier and more design-forward cars, including a three-row minivan that starts at about $25,000. It plans seven more SUVs by 2030, which will join a recently released model that has a sunroof and advanced driver assistance systems.

The brand is also reversing its decision not to use large display screens in some vehicles, according to three sources, who said Japanese executives had felt they would be a distraction for drivers.

Bharti confirmed that Maruti and Suzuki executives had discussed those concerns. Large displays and similar features are always "on the cards," he said, though the company continues to weigh customer demand against the realities of Indian driving conditions.

One open question is whether Maruti's more expensive cars will sell. The brand's association with affordability means Indians willing to spend more usually don't consider Maruti, six people told Reuters. Less than 3% of Maruti's sales come from cars priced above $15,500, compared with over 21% for the rest of the industry, according to JATO Dynamics.

That perception is shaping the choice for buyers like Deepanshu Singhal, a sales executive who plans to upgrade to a Mahindra or Toyota SUV from the Maruti Dzire sedan he has driven for seven years.

"I'd rather spend a little more money for a better car that has some freshness and newness," he said.

(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Additional reporting by Daniel Leussink in Tokyo, Saurabh Sharma in New Delhi, Sumit Khanna in Ahmedabad and Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar; Editing by David Dolan and Katerina Ang)

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By Arpan Chaturvedi and Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI, July 16 (Reuters) - In a ruling that could expose automakers to greater liability over India's ethanol-blended fuel policy, an Indian consumer court has ordered Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS to provide a new car to a customer who alleged mandatory E20 fuel damaged his car.

The first-of-its-kind ruling is likely to be closely watched as legal experts said it could embolden other vehicle owners who believe the fuel has caused problems with their cars to seek compensation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government and automakers — including Maruti — have in recent weeks defended last year's rollout of so-called E20 fuel, which has 20% ethanol, saying it is safe for all vehicles.

The E20 programme, intended to reduce crude oil imports and cut emissions, has become one of the administration's biggest political challenges, with critics alleging the policy was rolled out too quickly and without offering motorists alternative fuel choices.

Hearing the plea of a doctor who alleged the fuel caused damage to his car, a consumer court in the state of Chhattisgarh said Maruti must offer a new replacement of its Grand Vitara SUV car or 2 million Indian rupees ($20,760) in damages.

Maruti, India's biggest carmaker, denied the allegation and told the consumer forum that the defects stemmed from use of adulterated fuel. Judges did not agree, according to a court order issued this week that went viral online on Thursday.

Maruti Suzuki did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the ruling. The company has the option to appeal the verdict before a higher forum.

Harsh Gursahani, a partner at Indian law firm PLR Chambers, said the ruling could prompt a number of other consumers to file cases "which will be a big headache for Maruti and other automakers."

The judgment quickly fuelled criticism online, with motorists questioning earlier assurances from Maruti that E20 fuel was safe.

"Every person who has a problem ... should move to consumer court and get justice," said X user Gaurav Pradhan.

Maruti said earlier this month its checks on older cars manufactured ​before 2023 "have not found anything ‌of ⁠concern".

($1 = 96.3450 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi; Editing by Aditya Kalra and Ros Russell)

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July 15 (Reuters) -

• INDIA AUTO INDUSTRY BODY SIAM - INDIA'S JUNE TOTAL DOMESTIC PASSENGER VEHICLE SALES 3,88,144 UNITS

• SIAM - INDIA'S JUNE 2-WHEELER SALES 18,51,400 UNITS

• SIAM - INDIA'S JUNE 3-WHEELER SALES 77,951 UNITS

• SIAM - OVERALL CONSUMER SENTIMENT AND DEMAND REMAIN STEADY AT PRESENT

• SIAM: INDUSTRY CONTINUES TO CLOSELY MONITOR GEOPOLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS AND PROGRESS OF MONSOON

Further company coverage: ASOK.NS

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Updates CFO comment in paragraph 3

By Saikeerthi .

July 9 (Reuters) - Indian tyre maker JK Tyre & Industries JKIN.NS expects to raise product prices by a total of 11% to 13% by the end of September to offset rising input costs, its finance chief said, joining rivals in passing on higher expenses to customers.

The hikes reflect pressure across the auto-parts sector after an oil price rally linked to the Middle East conflict drove up the cost of petroleum-based inputs, energy and freight.

The tyre maker, which said in May it expects to raise prices by 5% to 6%, has since rolled out hikes every month in the first quarter and plans to increase prices by a further 5% to 6% in the coming two to three months, CFO Sanjeev Aggarwal told Reuters on Wednesday.

"Prices (of raw materials) have gone through the roof and for us, it went up by almost over 20%. So, that has impacted business in this quarter," Aggarwal said, citing West Asia tensions, transport disruption and supply-chain constraints.

Raw materials such as natural rubber, synthetic rubber, carbon black and steel make up about two-thirds of expenses for the company, which counts leading car makers Maruti Suzuki India MRTI.NS and Tata Motors TATM.NS among its customers.

The move brings it in line with rivals Apollo Tyres APLO.NS and CEAT CEAT.NS, which have also raised prices. Top Indian car makers have passed on the costs to customers.

Industry data released earlier this month showed vehicle sales rose 21.8% in June, signaling strong demand across passenger and commercial vehicles and giving tyre makers more room to raise prices.

(Reporting by Saikeerthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Chandini Monnappa, Subhranshu Sahu and Jonathan Ananda)

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By Arpan Chaturvedi and Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI, July 8 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is facing mounting anger over a mandatory 20% ethanol-blended fuel policy, with vehicle owners demanding choice and an opposition politician asking carmakers Maruti Suzuki and Toyota to provide clarity.

The 20% ethanol-blended petrol, called E20, became the only fuel sold at India's 90,000 petrol pumps at the end of last year, triggering a public uproar that however dissipated within weeks.

But it's now again at the centre of controversy after a top government lawyer called E20 an "experiment" in court - and then backtracked on the comments - re-igniting concerns about the fuel affecting the performance of cars and what critics called its hasty rollout.

Hundreds of motorists have posted complaints on X alleging reduced fuel efficiency and increased wear ​and tear of car parts from E20. One of the main complaints is that they have no option to buy unblended petrol if they prefer.

"Auto companies need to stop hiding and tell us clearly ... can your pre-2023 models actually handle E20 fuel?" said X user Aashna. "Stop fooling the public."

While countries like Brazil have paced ethanol blend increases over decades, the U.S. has capped its standard blend at E10 and sells higher blends only as an option for compatible vehicles.

In India, however, E20 fuel replaced E10 nationwide in 2025, well ahead of its 2030 deadline, even though E20-compliant cars only began hitting the roads in 2023.

Late on Tuesday, opposition politician Arvind Kejriwal held a press conference during which he read from the owner's manuals of Maruti and Toyota cars, arguing many old cars were only E10 compliant, tapping into simmering public anger over the policy.

"People are only asking for one thing: please give us an option," said Kejriwal, a former chief minister of the capital Delhi. He has written to Toyota and others demanding clarity on whether their vehicles are E20 compliant, according to letters he posted on X on Wednesday.

Maruti MRTI.NS and Toyota Motor 7203.T did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

GOVERNMENT MINISTER CHALLENGES CRITICISM

Reuters has previously reported that a fuel tank flap and user manual of an Audi Q3 purchased in 2024 in India showed it recommended only E5 and E10 fuel. The fuel tank of a 2024 Mahindra MAHM.NS Scorpio SUV was pasted with a warning sticker: "CAUTION. PETROL/E10 FUEL ONLY".

Mahindra said in a statement that its E20-compliant vehicles could use the fuel, but it did not address what would happen with older cars.

The E20 debate has dominated prime-time television debates and newspaper editorials in recent days. The government says E20 saves imports of crude oil, helps farmers cultivating sugar, the base for ethanol, and lowers emissions.

A lawyer filed a new public interest case at the Supreme Court this week, echoing those concerns. It's not clear if the court will hear the case amid the new public uproar, given it dismissed challenges to the policy last year.

Modi's officials and state-run oil companies have been trying to calm nerves. On Tuesday, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said he was challenging anyone to prove that their vehicle was damaged because of using E20.

Tehseen Poonawalla, a New Delhi-based entrepreneur and opposition Congress party supporter, has sought a public conversation with the minister on the issue, saying he will bring affected customers to the gathering.

(Reporting by Arpan Chaturvedi and Aditi Shah; editing by Aditya Kalra and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

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July 6 (Reuters) - India's retail car sales rose 28.6% in June, with compressed natural gas and other alternative-fuel-powered vehicles accounting for a record 40.35% of total sales, after fuel prices jumped following the war in Iran, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Monday.

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

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By Dhwani Pandya

MUMBAI, July 4 (Reuters) - Indian government and auto industry officials on Saturday defended the mandatory rollout of petrol blended with 20% ethanol, saying years of testing and service data showed no evidence of widespread vehicle damage, despite public concerns over lower fuel efficiency and engine safety.

The fuel, known as E20, has faced rising criticism on social media in recent days, with motorists questioning whether older vehicles designed for lower ethanol blends could suffer corrosion, wear or reduced performance.

Automakers including Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS, Hero MotorCorp HROM.NS and Toyota Kirloskar Motor said even older vehicles can run safely on E20. Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, said it had serviced more than 15 million older cars over the past two years that were not certified for E20 and found no fuel-related problems.

"As a manufacturer, we have tested E10 cars which were prevalent before 2023 on E20 fuel for all parameters and we have not found anything of concern," Rahul Bharti, Maruti Suzuki's senior executive officer for corporate affairs, said at a joint press conference with government officials.

Industry officials acknowledged a minor trade-off: E20 reduces fuel efficiency by about 3-3.5% because of its lower energy content. However, they said the fuel's higher octane rating can help carmakers design future engines with higher compression ratios, which could improve performance, torque, drivability and even fuel efficiency.

Officials also rejected viral claims that E20 had caused engine failures, saying at least one widely shared case was linked to contaminated fuel rather than standard E20.

They added that E20 is the highest ethanol blend currently tested for regular petrol vehicles and said any move to higher blends would need fresh trials.

(Reporting by Dhwani Pandya. Editing by Mark Potter)

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Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.'s most advanced vehicle manufacturing facility at Kharkhoda, Haryana, was inaugurated on 2 July 2026 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi via video conferencing during the India-Japan Joint Economic Forum. The 800-acre plant operates with an initial capacity of 0.5 million units a year and is designed to scale up to 1 million units with a total projected investment of ₹35,000 crore, including a dedicated supplier park. At full scale it will be among the world's largest passenger vehicle plants and is a cornerstone of the company's ambition to reach 4 million units of annual production. Built on Suzuki's Smart Factory concept and Industry 5.0 practices, the facility runs entirely on renewable energy and is a zero-liquid-discharge site that recycles all its water. An in-plant railway siding will further ease logistics and reduce fuel consumption. The company said the plant will create over 21,000 direct and indirect jobs and is already supporting community development projects in nearby villages.

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July 2 (Reuters) - Maruti Suzuki India Ltd MRTI.NS:

• MARUTI SUZUKI - PROJECTED INVESTMENT IN KHARKHODA VEHICLE MANUFACTURING FACILITY 350 BILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE5ZrdWl

Further company coverage: MRTI.NS

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July 1 (Reuters) - Maruti Suzuki India Ltd MRTI.NS:

• MARUTI SUZUKI - JUNE 2026 SALES TOTAL 200,390 UNITS

Source text: ID:nBSEV0wXD

Further company coverage: MRTI.NS

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June 30 (Reuters) - Maruti Suzuki India Ltd MRTI.NS:

• MARUTI SUZUKI - RECEIVES 67.05 MILLION RUPEES PENALTY ORDER FROM TAX AUTHORITY

Source text: ID:nBSE5pXgf8

Further company coverage: MRTI.NS

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June 29 (Reuters) - Maruti Suzuki India Ltd MRTI.NS:

• MARUTI SUZUKI- GETS TAX DEMAND OF 34.45 MILLION RUPEES AND PENALTY OF 34.45 MILLION RUPEES

Source text: ID:nBSE7X5szw

Further company coverage: MRTI.NS

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By Rajendra Jadhav

MUMBAI, June 22 (Reuters) - India, once the world's second-largest sugar exporter, is expected to have little surplus for export for at least three more seasons as El Nino weather conditions threaten cane production and rising ethanol demand squeezes supply.

The twin pressures are poised to keep millions of tons of sugar off the world market, tightening supplies for importers across Asia, Africa and the Middle East and supporting benchmark prices in London LSUc1 and New York SBc1.

A prolonged absence by India from export markets would remove a key balancing supplier as weather risks and biofuel policies reshape global sugar trade flows.

Interviews with over a dozen trade and industry executives, government sources and farmers show that lower cane availability and rising ethanol demand will leave little for exports for several years, prompting dealers at global houses to warn head offices of shrinking opportunities in India, trade sources said.

GOVERNMENT EXPECTED TO CURB EXPORTS SEASON BY SEASON

Sugar is politically sensitive in global top consumer India, where sweets are highly popular and many poorer households rely on it as a cheap source of calories.

"Supplies are already tight in India, and now El Nino is emerging as a major risk," said Rahil Shaikh, managing director of MEIR Commodities India, a Mumbai-based trader.

"If rains disappoint as forecast, cane planting will suffer and this will keep India out of the sugar export market for at least three years, while Brazil and Thailand could also see their crops affected by El Nino."

Top exporter Brazil is also diverting more cane for ethanol. Thailand, another major exporter, could also have its output hit by El Nino-curtailed rains.

India exported 6.8 million metric tons of sugar annually on average in the five seasons through 2022-23 - about 10% of global shipments. This year, after exporting around 800,000 tons, India banned shipments until September 30, the end of the season.

Mills need government approval to export sugar, and New Delhi is likely to withhold export permissions each season rather than announce a multiyear ban, government and industry sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Last month, a top minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government told mills to prioritise domestic availability and not lobby for exports, the sources said on condition of anonymity because the discussions were confidential.

India's Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs did not respond to a request for comment on the prospects for exports or its restrictions on exports.

EL NINO CLOUDS CANE OUTLOOK

El Nino conditions are forecast to weaken India's monsoon rains this year to their lowest in 11 years.

Below-average rains, coupled with June precipitation running more than 40% below average, have prompted farmers to delay planting.

"I had planned to plant long-duration cane varieties in June, but since everyone is talking about lower rains, I decided to put that plan on hold," said Sambhaji Patil, who decided to grow soybeans instead on 2 acres (0.8 hectares) in Sangli district of the western state of Maharashtra.

Nursery owner Suraj Chavan said demand for cane seedlings had fallen sharply in recent weeks.

Farmers are likely to switch to less water-intensive crops, which could drag down cane acreage and availability in the 2027-28 season, said Prakash Naiknavare, managing director of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories.

Local authorities have started promoting alternative crops such as soybeans, pigeon peas and other pulse varieties in most sugar-growing regions and have restricted water supplies for irrigation.

India was expected to produce 30.95 million tons of sugar this season, but output is now forecast at 27.9 million tons, below annual consumption of about 28.5 million tons, according to industry estimates.

As a result, inventories with mills at the start of the season on October 1 are likely to fall to about 3.5 million tons, the lowest in more than three decades, said MEIR's Shaikh.

At the same time, India is pushing for higher ethanol blending with petrol and wider adoption of flex-fuel vehicles to cut dependence on expensive imported crude.

Ethanol demand could more than double to some 30 billion litres (8 billion gallons) by 2039-40 from the current 12 billion to 13 billion litres as higher ethanol blending in petrol and adoption of flex-fuel vehicles gather pace, industry estimates suggest.

SUGAR IMPORTS POSSIBLE FOR FIRST TIME IN DECADE

"The trajectory for ethanol demand is incredibly strong," said Samir Somaiya, chairman and managing director of Godavari Biorefineries GODA.NS. "The next phase of demand evolution will be driven by the commercial rollout of flex-fuel vehicles."

Top Indian carmaker Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS this month launched the nation's first flex-fuel passenger vehicle, while Hero MotoCorp HROM.NS launched a flex-fuel motorcycle.

India this month eliminated the production tax on petrol blended with higher levels of ethanol and launched fuel with up to 85% ethanol to support adoption of flex-fuel vehicles.

Future government policies will likely support ethanol production over sugar exports, said B.B. Thombare, managing director of Natural Sugar in Maharashtra state.

India could eventually be forced to import sugar if El Nino-related weather disruptions sharply cut cane cultivation area and output, the government sources and industry officials said, with traders warning that supplies could tighten further in the 2027-28 season.

India last imported sugar in 2016-17 and 2017-18 after an El Nino-induced drought in 2015 cut cane planting. In 2009 and 2010, India's heavy purchases helped push global prices to nearly three times their previous levels.

"Because of a severe El Nino and rising demand for ethanol, not only would exports from India be wiped out, but imports into India in the coming years could also become necessary," said Mohan Narang, director of K.S. Commodities, a trading house in New Delhi.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Mayank Bhardwaj, Tony Munroe and William Mallard)

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Adds details of price hikes paragraph 2 onwards

June 18 (Reuters) - India's Tata Motors TATM.NS said on Thursday it would increase prices across its commercial vehicle range by up to 2.5%, effective July 1, its second hike in three months as automakers grapple with rising costs from the Middle East war.

The hike is aimed at partially offsetting the impact of rising commodity prices and other input costs, the demerged commercial vehicle arm of the Tata group said.

It had raised prices of its commercial vehicles by up to 1.5% from April 1, also citing higher input costs.

Automakers in India have raised prices in recent months as they seek to cushion the impact of higher raw material costs, including steel and other commodities, amid war-linked cost pressures.

Last week, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles TAMO.NS said it would raise prices of its cars and SUVs, including electric vehicles, by up to 1.5% from July 1, its second hike in four months.

Rival automaker Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS raised vehicle prices by up to 30,000 rupees ($314.42) from June, while Hyundai Motor India HYUN.NS also increased prices from June 1.

(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

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