India's Maruti Suzuki to raise prices next week

NEW DELHI: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd , the country's biggest carmaker, will increase car prices next week, a senior official said on Thursday, but declined to say by how much.

The company expects sales in January to be higher from the same month a year ago, its head of marketing and sales, Mayank Pareek, told reporters at an industry event.

Maruti, 54.2 percent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp , has seen sales slump since strikes last summer shut down its plants and cost $500 million in lost production.

The company's sales in fiscal 2012 ending March will "of course" be lower than the previous year, said Shinzo Nakanishi, its chief executive and managing director.