New Delhi, Jan. 28 :    New Delhi, Jan. 28:  Maruti Udyog, the country's largest car maker, today raised the prices of its popular models - the city runabout Maruti 800, the Omni van and the mid-size sedan Esteem - by Rs 2,307 to Rs 8,835. The price hike, the third in the last 12 months, translates into an increase of 0.85 per cent to 3.87 per cent and comes into effect from tonight. The price increases have not been extended to its other models - Zen, Wagon R, Alto, Baleno and the recently launched Versa. Maruti Udyog had signalled its intention to raise prices in early December and most had expected it to come through by the middle of this month. 'The volume models have to bear the brunt of the price increase because in a tight market, we cannot raise the prices of the high-cost cars. We also have to watch customers' affordability. Our cost of raw materials has increased by 2-3 per cent. Despite mounting costs and the depreciating rupee, the effort has been to hold down the price hikes to the barest minimum. The company has, instead, implemented a wide range of measures to cut costs and enhance quality,' said a Maruti spokesperson. The price of Maruti 800 standard variant has been raised by 1.7 per cent - by Rs 3,753 - to Rs 2.21 lakh (ex- showroom Delhi). The price of the 'EX' will now go up by Rs 8,677 to Rs 2.52 lakh. The price of the Maruti 800 DLX price has been upped by Rs 8,835 taking the price to Rs 2.73 lakh. The price of the Omni five-seater variant has been raised by Rs 2,307 to Rs 2.26 lakh. The models in the B segment, like Alto, Wagon R and Zen have not turned dearer after a marginal increase last August when the prices of Alto and Zen went up by Rs 300-Rs 500. The prices of the two Esteem variants - LX and VX - have gone up by Rs 4,161 and Rs 4,696 respectively. The LX version will now carry a price tag of Rs 4.95 lakh, while the VX version will sport a sticker price of Rs 5.44 lakh. The premium segment, offering Baleno, its station wagon cousin - the Baleno Altura - and the latest offering, Versa, have been left out of the recent increase. The company first raised prices last May, by 0.1 per cent to 1.5 per cent. In the second round in August, the company increased the prices of all their models by 1-2 per cent, except Baleno, Altura and Esteem VX. The Versa had not been launched at that time. The prices in August went up by Rs 2,600-6,500 in Delhi (ex-showroom).