New Delhi: Carmakers like Maruti Suzuki, Honda Siel, Mahindra & Mahindra as well two-wheeler companies are planning to raise prices in response to rising steel prices and the falling value of the rupee.

Auto manufacturers say they have been hit on account of wildly fluctuating steel prices and those who had signed annual contracts now find their top suppliers demanding higher prices.

Moreover, the rupee depreciation has also made imported steel costlier.

Maruti Suzuki recently increased its prices by Rs2,000-Rs6,000 to absorb rising input costs as its major supplier Nippon asked for a 22 per cent price hike for new contracts. Others like Tata Steel are also seeking higher prices.

Industry sources say steel comprises the largest part of the commodity needs of carmakers and while there has been a softening of the prices of other hard commodities like nickel, lead, aluminium etc, which are needed in smaller quantities, there has been no real fall in steel prices.

Also the crux of the problem is that the price of high grade value-added steel just refuses to fall. While there has been some fall in the spot prices of steel, high-grade auto steel has actually risen.

So far the companies claim to have been absorbing the higher steel prices but it has become difficult to continue to cushion consumers any further and they may now have to  pay a higher price.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, the rise in the price of steel could be in the range of Rs4,750 to Rs10,000 per tonne.

Major global suppliers for high-grade auto steel are Korea's Posco, Nippon of Japan, Arcelor Mittal and domestic manufacturers like Tata Steel, Ispat, Bhushan Steel and Essar.

The fall in rupee value has also impacted importers of steel as they now have to pay more for the same commodity. The rupee is now trading at around Rs50 per dollar against Rs42 to Rs44 per dollar a couple of months back.

These developments are likely to hit the already beleaguered auto industry as sales in the first half of the fiscal grew a mere 5 per cent to 6 lakh units from 5.69 lakh units last year. Slowing sales added to rising input costs has hit the profit margins of all major players in the industry, except Hero Honda.

 Maruti Suzuki India had hiked prices of its select models by up to Rs 6,000 just before Diwali. Post the price hike M800 has become costlier by Rs 2,000 while Alto is slated to cost Rs2,500 more.

The company has also raised the price of its compact cars Zen Estilo and WagonR by Rs 3,000 and that of Omni van by Rs 2,200.
The Sedan SX4 has become more expensive by Rs6,000 while utility vehicle Versa comes at an additional cost of Rs3,500. The company's multi-utility vehicle Gypsy now is costlier by Rs5,500.

Select variants of premium hatchback Swift have also become costlier by Rs4,500, while its sedan version, the mid-sized Dzire is the only car tyo have been spared the price hike.