Maruti, Hyundai, GM hike prices by up to ₹1.27 lakh, cite input costs

Leading manufacturers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and General Motors hiked car prices by up to ₹1.27 lakh Tuesday, within days of the government's withdrawal of excise duty concessions.

The carmarkers attributed the price hike to increased input costs as also to the withdrawal of the duty sops, which were given in February last year and extended till December 31.

The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) hiked prices of its vehicles in the range of ₹7,850 to ₹31,600, while rival Hyundai hiked prices in the range of ₹15,000 to ₹1,27,000, effective January 1, 2015.

General Motors India also hiked prices of various models in the range of ₹15,000 to ₹61,000.

The increased prices after revision of central excise duty with effect from January 1, 2015 across all models ranges between ₹7,850 on Omni van to ₹31,600 on mid-sized sedan Ciaz, said an MSI official.

Under the revised prices, the popular entry level car Alto 800 will be dearer by ₹8,500 to ₹12,700. Before the hike the model was priced between ₹2.37 lakh and ₹3.52 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi).

Another popular model WagonR from will see an increase ranging from ₹12,500 to ₹15,700 from its current tag of ₹3.48 lakh to ₹4.35 lakh.

Maruti's premium compact car Swift will cost ₹15,850 to ₹25,150 more now from the current price of ₹4.42 lakh to ₹6.95 lakh.

Likewise, popular compact sedan Dzire will see an increase from ₹17,500 to ₹26,650 from the current price of ₹4.85 lakh to ₹7.32 lakh.

The car market leader said its new compact model Celerio will see an increase of ₹13,600 to ₹17,200 from the existing price tag of ₹3.76 lakh to ₹4.78 lakh.

Maruti's latest model Ciaz will cost ₹22,450 to ₹31,600 more from the current price of ₹6.99 lakh to ₹9.80 lakh, while the price of its multi-purpose vehicle Ertiga has been hiked by ₹18,750 to ₹27,750 from its previous price of ₹5.8 lakh to ₹8.49 lakh.

Maruti Suzuki said its van Omni will cost ₹7,850 to ₹9,950 more from the current price of ₹2.17 lakh to ₹2.75 lakh.

Earlier in the day, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) said it has raised the price of entry level small car Eon by ₹15,417. It was previously priced between ₹2.88 lakh and ₹4.03 lakh.

Another compact car i10 will be dearer by ₹21,501. The model used to retail between ₹3.99 and ₹4.77 lakh.

Similarly, HMIL has hiked the price of Grand i10 by up to ₹22,508. It was earlier tagged between ₹4.41 lakh and ₹6.43 lakh.

The company said prices of compact sedan Xcent have been hiked by up to ₹25,597. Before the hike, the model cost between ₹4.73 lakh and ₹7.47 lakh.

The company further said the price of its premium hatchback Elite i20 has been increased by up to ₹29,814 from its price ranging between ₹4.99 and ₹7.66 lakh.

Mid-sized sedan Verna will cost ₹23,965 more from the earlier price between ₹7.39 lakh and ₹11.72 lakh, the company said, adding executive sedan Elantra prices have also been been hiked by up to ₹36,912. The sedan was previously priced between ₹12.92 and ₹16.24 lakh.

Similarly, HMIL said petrol variant of its premium sedan Sonata has been hiked by up to ₹45,396 from the previous price range of ₹18.74 lakh to ₹20.78 lakh.

Hyundai has also hiked the price of its premium sports utility vehicle Santa Fe by up to ₹1.27 lakh. The vehicle was previously priced between ₹25.60 lakh and ₹28.41 lakh.

Homegrown auto major Tata Motors said it would also be increasing prices of its products.

On Monday, Honda Cars India had announced a price hike of up to ₹60,000 across its product range.

India's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp also said it has passed on the impact of increase in excise duty to consumers without sharing the details.

'Manufacturers have no option but to pass on the enhanced excise duty rates to customers which is going to further slowdown the pace of growth in the industry. We have raised the prices on our two-wheelers to offset the increased duty impact,' a company spokesperson said.

The new prices have come into effect from January 1, the spokesperson added.

On the withdrawal of the excise duty concession, the official said: 'The auto industry still remains sluggish and therefore, the rollback of the current excise duty rate is going to adversely impact the industry in particular and the manufacturing sector in general.'