Manufacturers hike car prices to offset rising input costs, expect more hikes this year

Hiked prices are commonplace at the start of a new year, and the 3-4 per cent hike we saw from most manufacturers was expected. However there's also been price hikes in April and May to help manufacturers offset the cost of producing the vehicle, due to rising raw material prices, especially in the cost of steel, aluminium, plastics and precious metals like rhodium used in the vehicle's catalytic converters. Some reports point to another upward revision of steel prices in July, so expect to see another hike in car prices later this year. Another factor to consider are the upcoming CAFE and RDE norms in 2023, which manufacturers will no doubt work towards meeting in the coming year, further driving up input costs. 

Tata Motors and Mahindra are the latest carmakers to announce price hikes, with Tata Motor's hikes averaging 1.8 per cent across the ex-showroom price of its passenger vehicle range, while Mahindra's price hikes range from Rs 671 on certain variants of the XUV300 to a maximum of Rs 48,860 on certain variants of the Scorpio. The most affordable Mahindra, the KUV100, saw a rise in price between Rs 18,780-23,616, while the Thar's pricing only goes up by Rs 1,344.

While Renault had announced a price hike on its other models in April, citing rising input costs, the introductory pricing period on the Kiger has run out recently, with all variants except a select few being subject to a hike between Rs 14,000-33,000. Despite this, the Renault Kiger remains the most affordable compact SUV in the market.

In mid-April, Maruti Suzuki had hiked prices of all vehicles in its line-up (except for the Celerio and recently launched 2021 Swift) by 1.6 per cent. Hyundai too increased prices on all its models (except for the i20), with the Tucson receiving the largest hike of Rs 34,000, and the Grand i10 Nios and Aura compact sedan being the least affected. The Hyundai Creta saw a price increase of Rs 13,600 across variants except for the base. Even luxury carmakers have had to offset the rising input costs, with Volvo increasing prices on all its cars barring the recently launched S60 sedan by Rs 1-2 lakh.