Maruti Suzuki misses profit targets as rising raw material costs squeeze margins

Maruti Suzuki, India’s leading automaker by sales, reported a surprise decline in quarterly profit for the period ending March 31, 2026.

Despite a significant surge in revenue, the manufacturer of the popular Swift and Brezza was hit by a sharp increase in production expenses, leading it to miss analyst expectations, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The company reported a net profit of 35.91 billion rupees (approximately $380 million), a drop from the 38.57 billion rupees earned during the same quarter the previous year. This performance fell short of the 41.38 billion rupees forecast by market analysts.

While overall revenue rose 28.2% to 524.49 billion rupees, these gains were overshadowed by an aggressive rise in expenses. Raw material costs for essential metals like steel and aluminum surged nearly 51%, pushing the company’s total expenditure up by 28%. Rising freight and logistics costs further pressured the bottom line, effectively denting the carmaker's profit margins despite healthy sales volumes.

The Indian automotive sector had recently seen a revival in showroom traffic and affordability following GST tax cuts in September. However, the financial buffer created by those policy changes is thinning as commodity volatility persists. Automakers now face a difficult balancing act, navigating soaring input costs while remaining cautious about implementing sharp price hikes that could alienate price-sensitive consumers. Moving forward, Maruti Suzuki’s ability to maintain its market leadership will depend on managing these inflationary pressures while sustaining the strong demand seen for its SUV lineup.

News.Az