Cars to be more expensive as companies plan price hike

It will be an expensive start to the year for car buyers in 2013 with automobile companies led by Maruti Suzuki India deciding to hike prices of their vehicles, and others also considering a similar move.

While Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said it will increase prices of its products by up to Rs 20,000, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said it will also hike prices by 1-2 per cent across all models.

Other companies, Honda Cars India and Volkswagen India said they are also contemplating such a move, but finer details are still being worked out.

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The companies said increasing pressure on their margins due to currency fluctuation necessitated the move.

"There will be a hike in the prices of our products. Quantum will vary depending on models, but it can be up to Rs 20,000," Maruti Suzuki India chief operating officer (marketing and sales) Mayank Pareek told PTI.

He said the price hike has been necessitated due to increasing pressure on the margins due to the currency fluctuation.

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The company currently sells a variety of models from the M800 to imported Kizashi at a price range starting at Rs 209,000 to Rs 17.52 lakh, or Rs 1.75 million (ex-showroom Delhi).

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) also said it would increase prices across its models from January 1. The range will be 1-2 per cent across all models, a TKM spokesperson said.

TKM sells a range of vehicles from hatchback Etios Liva, with price starting at Rs 4.44 lakh to the imported sports utility vehicle Land Cruiser tagged at Rs 99.27 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

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Honda Cars India also said it is considering price hikes but details are yet to be finalised.

Similarly, a spokesperson for Volkswagen Group Sales India said: "With increasing pressure on input costs and exchange rates, Volkswagen is considering a price hike."