``The company is looking at a price revision given the buoyancy in demand for all three models,'' a senior Maruti official told The Financial Express.Though the company is still in the process of working out the exact amount of price hike for the three models, the increase is expected to cover up a substantial part of the cuts announced in June when Maruti had cut prices of the three models by Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000.

Maruti's chief general manager Rohtash Mal, when contacted for comments on the proposed price hike, said ``We are considering a review of prices and we will make an announcement towards the month-end''.

The company has been juggling with its pricing strategy frequently in view of pressures on its profit margins. The company's profit has been on the downslide for the last two years due to competition from new players in the industry which has resulted in increased marketing expenditure and capital investment on production of new models. The capital expenditure has also resulted in an increase in depreciation charge.

The price cut in June-end boosted sales of Maruti 800 from an all-time low of 5284 units during that month, to 13,841 units in July and further to 14,919 units in August. ``Since price reduction, the increase in sales has been nearly three-fold,'' a Maruti official said.

In the case of the Wagon R too, sales increased substantially from 1180 units in June to 1498 in July and 2273 units in August.

Multi-utility vehicle Omni's sales also increased post-price reduction from 3220 units in June to 4673 units in July and 5774 units in August.

Prices of Maruti 800 had been reduced between Rs 10,000 to Rs 23,000, while Wagon R had been cut by Rs 25,000. The Maruti 800 standard was available at Rs 2.12 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), while the Maruti 800 EX at Rs 2.59 lakh. The Wagon R LX was priced at Rs 3.44 lakh. Prices of all Omni models have been reduced by Rs 12,000. The changes had been done only for the entry-level cars.

After these cuts, the price differential between the Maruti 800 and other small cars, including the Matiz and Santro, had widened. MUL had taken the step reportedly to rejuvenate the A segment as it had witnessed the maximum deceleration during the first quarter of this fiscal. In the last two years, the 800's share in the total car market has plummeted from 59 per cent to 22 per cent, as per the figures from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).