New Delhi, May 2: Maruti Udyog Ltd today announced a price hike on all its vehicles, except the entry-level M-800 and its multi-utility Gypsy, citing rising input costs.

While the mid-size Baleno saw the maximum price increase at 0.72 per cent, with the LXI variant going up by Rs 4,138 to touch Rs 5,79,073, the price of the popular Alto LX will rise by Rs 1,906 to Rs 2,77,908.

?There had been a pressure on margins due to rising input costs, which prompted this increase. The price hike will be on all the models and variants, except the M800 and the Gypsy,? a company spokesman said.

The price of the Wagon R model rose by Rs 563. Its LXI model will now be priced at Rs 3,64,492.

The percentage hike on the Zen will be similar at 0.15 per cent, the company said. The LXI variant of the model will now cost Rs 3,70,519.

Similarly, the price of the mid-size Esteem will go up by Rs 900. The LXI variant of the model will carry a sticker price of Rs 4,70,323.

The price of the Versa will also go up by Rs 900, with the Versa DX2 costing Rs 4,57,679.

Maruti, the country's biggest carmaker, reported a 4 per cent drop in sales for the month of April at 38,190 units against 39,838 units in the same month last year.

Exports fell by as much as 58 per cent this April to 1,218 units from 2,910 units in the corresponding month last year.

Sales of the M-800 model were down 38 per cent to touch 6,910 units from 11,097 units in the April 2004.

However, Maruti's sales in the compact car segment, including the Alto, the Zen and the Wagon R models, went up by 15 per cent to 22,280 units in April this year against 19,296 units in the same month last year.

Sales of its mid-size cars Baleno and Esteem were up 78 per cent to 2,331 units from 1,313 units, while that of the multi-utility Gypsy and the Vitara were up by 51 per cent to 613 units from 406 units.

Total sales of Maruti in 2004-05 stood at 5,36,301 units, a growth of 13.6 per cent over 4,72,122 units sold in 2003-04.

HM loss

Hindustan Motors Limited has suffered a loss of Rs 30.66 crore in the first 12 months of 2004-05, 62 per cent lower than Rs 80.95 crore in the previous fiscal. HM had extended the accounting year till June 30, 2005.