India, Oct. 12 -- Auto stocks are heading into the festive season with a lot going on. Steel and rubber ran up sharply this year, and carmakers had to decide how much to pass on to buyers. When volumes grow fast, but margins slip, investors start asking which business can handle the squeeze better. That's the question we try to sort out here.

Citi Is Positive On Both, But Not Equally Citi has maintained a 'Buy' rating on both companies, so nobody is fighting over a Buy versus a Sell here. What changes is how much room the brokerage sees. For M&M the target price is Rs4,260, which means an upside of 51%. For Maruti Suzuki the target is Rs16,500, with an upside of 46%. So M&M gets a few extra points of upside, but honestly that kind of gap...