Maruti Udyog on Tuesday launched the upgraded versions of its compact car 'WagonR' and said it will decide on hiking vehicle prices by this year-end due to increasing cost pressures following the appreciation of the Yen and rising steel prices.

The new-look would be uniform in all the four existing variants of the car -- the 'LX', 'LXi', 'VXi' and 'AX' -- and would be offered at the same price of Rs 3.29 lakh, Rs 3.56 lakh, Rs 3.80 lakh and Rs 4.56 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), respectively, Maruti managing director Jagdish Khattar said.

The new 'WagonR' would have features like redesigned clear headlamp, clear tail lamps, new chrome grille, new upholstery, rear defogger and wheel covers.

"Our steel contracts are coming to an end in December. We are working out our contracts with the suppliers from Korea, Japan and India. Besides, the rising yen is also causing concern. We have to look at prices around December," Khattar said.

He added that the company was making efforts to contain the increasing cost pressure by improving production and rationalising costs.

The upgraded 'WagonR' was expected to further boost volumes of the car whose sales grew by 44 per cent during the first six months this fiscal, Khattar said.

Maruti, a subsidiary of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, also produces other compact car models like 'Alto' and 'Zen.'

The company posted a 31 per cent rise in sales during April-September 2003 to 2,12,468 units. Domestic sales jumped by 26 per cent to 1,90,044 units, while exports soared by 98 per cent to 22,424 units.