Some of the firms recently declared that they will increase prices of their cars, such as BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Volkswagen. Now, South Korean auto maker Hyundai has joined this bandwagon, announcing the quantum of price hike that will be put to effect from January 2014. In an official statement, the company announced that the rise in rates of its cars is going to range from Rs. 5000 to Rs. 20000, depending on the model. This announcement is not surprising as it was inevitable that Hyundai would increase prices, considering the precedents set by rivals.
Reports regarding hike in prices of cars have become common off-late as most firms have made announcements pertaining to the same. A number of car makers, which includes brands in the luxury vehicle segment, have already made it official that rates of their entire line-ups will rise from January.
Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice-President for Sales and Marketing at Hyundai Motor India Limited, spoke about this development, citing relevant reasons for the firm's actions. “In these adverse market conditions there is continuous increase in input costs on account of rupee depreciation and inflationary trends, this has made the price increase inevitable. We have been absorbing most of the costs but now we are compelled to consider the price increase. The quantum of price increase will vary from Rs. 5000/- to Rs. 20000/- across all our models,” he was quoted as saying.
Industry experts feel that words of Srivastava pretty much sum up the kind of sentiment that exists among car makers in India. The economic slowdown has taken its toll on most firms, which includes big names like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. The value of Rupee has been depreciating against Dollar, leading to a direct increase in cost of inputs. Companies, in order to keep their profit margins intact, have decided to shift the burden of this to customers.
Hyundai, on its part, has performed reasonably well in 2013, registering decent sales figures. The highlight of its operations has been the launch of Grand i10, which has been a huge success. This model has generated a tremendous response from critics and customers. Slotted between i10 and i20, Grand i10 has been appreciated for its looks, comfort, spaciousness and comfort features. Recently, Hyundai released a statement, wherein it declared that 30000 units have been delivered to customers in a space of 90 days.
