Mahindras gear up to raise prices

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) will raise prices across all categories of vehicles next month because of rising input costs. The amount of hike is yet to be decided, senior officials said. 

According to Arun Malhotra, senior vice-president (sales & customer care), M&M automotive sector, there will be a price hike in January because of rising cost of inputs such as steel and rubber. The company last raised prices in the first week of October this year by 1-2 per cent based on the model. Malhotra said the January hike would be across both passenger and commercial vehicles. 

He said the company would introduce a new pick-up truck, above 1.2-tonnage carriage capacity, within the first six months of next year. Analysts said that while rubber prices had doubled in the recent past, metal prices had jumped 3-4 percentage points. M&M is not the only auto company which has talked about raising vehicle prices. Tata Motors recently indicated that it would raise its vehicle prices by 1-1.5 per cent in January because of growing raw material costs. 

The company has, however, decided not to increase the prices of the Nano and the Aria. Similarly, Maruti Suzuki has said it would hike prices of its vehicles soon, while Hyundai Motor India has announced a hike by Rs 4,00025,000 on various models from January 1. The other auto makers which will jack up rates include Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford India and Toyota Kirloskar.

Volkswagen had said it would increase the prices of its small car Polo by over 2.9 per cent with effect from January. Two-wheeler majors such as Bajaj Auto have announced similar increases. Recently, the Pune-based company said it would raise bike prices by up to Rs 1,000 at the ex-showroom. This hike will also come into effect from January. However, senior officials of the company say the price rise will not affect sales as its models offer superior value. 

Source: http://www.telegraphindia.com

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