The giant luxury car maker Audi India has decided over the magnitude of hike that would be brought about in the prices of all its cars. The move has come in view of the sharply depreciating rupee and increasing input costs over a period of time. If sources are to be believed, the company would be hiking the purchase cost by 1% to 2% with effect from next year. "The falling rupee and rising input costs have impacted the firm. The pressure on margins of the volume models have been the most," a source said.
By this, the company will shed-off its pressure to some extent and partially pass it on to the customers. It must be noted that imported models of Audi, too, will come under the purview of price rise.
Commenting on the current margins of the company, Audi India Head Michael Perschke said, "The exchange rate is hurting us. The input costs are also very high. At this situation, nobody can seriously avoid a price hike." As a matter of fact, the company offers a host of luxury vehicles meant for different segments of the Indian auto industry. The prices of all its cars fall within the bracket of Rs. 27.69 lacs and Rs. 1.50 crores (ex-showroom, Delhi).
The earnings of most auto makers operating in India have received serious blows in the recent past. Therefore, in order to negate the adversities, auto makers like Mahindra & Mahindra, Renault, Nissan Motor, Hyundai Motor, Ford, General Motors and Toyota Kirloskar are also ready for the New Year with price hike of around 3%. Mahindra & Mahindra confirmed that its price swell will cover its entire range of cars and may go up to 3%.
Renault India has decided to add weight to the price tag of its sports utility vehicle (SUV) Koleos to the tune of Rs. 1 lac from 1st January 2012. Nissan Motor India has planned to raise the price of its compact car Micra and the petrol variant of Sunny sedan by up to 2%. Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) too joins the league with a hike of about 1.5% to 2% in the prices of its vehicles from the start of next year. Ford India will blanket its complete portfolio offered in India with a 2% to 3% price hike.
Thus, price hike seems to be the last resort for car makers that have been facing acute problems from quite some time now; though it is difficult to foresee the outcome of revised prices in the market.
