Joining the league, car maker Fiat India Automobiles officially announced that it would up the prices of its successful vehicles, sedan Linea and hatchback Punto to the tune of two percent with effect from January. The price hike has come in view of the untamed input costs that have forced companies to revise their pricing strategies from the scratch.
"We are going to increase prices of Linea and Punto by two percent with effect from January 1," a Fiat India Automobiles spokesperson said. The company has been struggling against the compressing margins that have come its way in the recent times, he added.
Unreasonable raw material prices is not the only culprit as Indian auto makers' profits have received serious blows from the continuously depreciating Indian rupee against the U.S. dollar.
To negate the adversities, car makers like Mahindra & Mahindra Renault, Nissan Motor, Hyundai Motor, Ford, General Motors and Toyota Kirloskar are also ready to bank on such moves in the near future. These car makers have planned to swell the price tags by up to 3 percent during the start of New Year. Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra informed that the strategy of increasing the ownership cost will blanket its entire portfolio.
On the other hand, Renault India has decided to revise the prices of its sports utility vehicle Koleos, which will add Rs. 1 lac to its price tag from 1st January 2012. It must be noted that Nissan Motor India is planning to add weight to the price of its small car Micra and the petrol model of premium sedan Sunny by up to 2 per cent.
Hyundai Motor India, the country's second biggest car company will also boost the price figures of its vehicles by 1.5 to 2 per cent from January next year. Ford India announced a rise in prices for its complete range of models by 2 to 3 per cent.
Following the trend is General Motors India that recently confirmed a swell in prices by 1 to 2 percent from January 2012. As a matter of fact, the cost of Beat diesel model will be hiked by Rs. 15,000.
Thus, a hike in prices of cars in India has surfaced as the last resort for car companies that are severely burdened under the menaces that have had an upper hand from quite a long time.
