Hyundai hikes prices, Maruti to take a call this month

NEW DELHI: Hyundai India on Thursday announced a price hike across models, joining other car makers. Market leader Maruti Suzuki, however, said that it will wait for 15-20 days before deciding its pricing strategy. Hyundai India announced it will raise prices by an average 0.6% across all models, driven by an increase in the cost of metals and other commodities, effective Thursday. "While the company continuously strives to optimise costs and minimise the impact on its customers, the company is constrained to pass on some of the increased costs to the market through this minor price increase" Hyundai said in a press release. When asked, Maruti Suzuki senior executive officer for marketing and sales Partho Banerjee said current prices will remain valid for the next 15-20 days. "Very soon, we are going to take a call...Are we going to revert to our GST prices (on the reduced GST rates only) or are we going to continue with the strategic pricing (reduced prices over and above the GST rate cut benefit)?" Luxury carmakers have already announced sharp increases, with BMW India opting for a 6% rise from Jan 1, pointing to prolonged forex pressure and higher raw material and logistics cost. Mercedes-Benz India too has raised prices by up to 2% across its product portfolio. According to media reports, several other carmakers also raised prices, with Renault implementing price rises of up to 2% across models, Nissan increasing prices of its vehicles by up to 3%, and MG Motor rolling out price increases of up to 2% across its petrol, diesel and electric models.