Ford, Maruti and M&M all set for another price hike

Leading car-makers in India are planning to increase the price of their respective cars in the country starting from July this year, blaming the skyrocketing cost of raw materials. The Companies like Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ford and Toyota are banking upon robust demand and hoping that a small price hike will not affect the ongoing sales momentum.

We should mention here that this is the fourth time in last six months when car makers have decided to increase the price of their cars in India. The auto industry in India first witnessed the price hike in January due to the increasing row material cost, following another price hike in March and April due to an increase of 2% in excise duty and implementation of new BS-IV emission norms respectively.

If commodity prices continue to rise at the current rate, the company will be forced to go in for a price hike, as per a statement given by Mr Pawan Goenka, President (auto and farm division), M&M. Overall, the commodity price curve has gone up by 20-25%, added M&M's Chief of Operations (auto division), Rajesh Kumar.

On the other hand, car-makers including Toyota Kirloskar, Maruti and Honda have already indicated that any decision on the price hike will be taken in next month. Ford India has already announced that it will increase Figo's price by 1 to 2 percent starting from July this year. The company will assess the effect of a rise in commodity prices on its products by the end of the third quarter of this year, as per a statement given by Ford India, President and MD Michael Boneham.

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