Carmakers to hike prices from April 1

With the government set to implement the Euro IV emission norms from 1 April, several carmakers said they would be increasing the prices of their vehicles from April.

Major automobile makers including Tata Motors, Fiat, Hyundai, Mahindra and General Motors, plan to up their prices after the implementation of the new emission norms, which will require them to upgrade their products.

“We will increase prices across all models except the Chevrolet Beat and Spark in the first week of April by up to Rs 6,000 following the new emission norms,” General Motors' Vice President (Corporate Communications) P Balendran told PTI in Mumbai.

“We were compelled to increase prices after the Budget following a hike in excise duty rates. This will be the second price hike by the company after the Budget,” Balendran said.

Several carmakers had jacked-up their prices after the Budget 2010 and if they do so again in April, it would mean that prices would be going up for the second time in less than two-months.

From April onwards, India will adopt stricter emission norms under which 13 major cities will upgrade to BS IV from BS III and the rest of the country would move up from BS II to BS III as per the recommendations of the Mashelkar Committee to control pollution.

Hyundai Motor India also plans to increase prices across all its models in the first week of April by up to Rs 5,000.

“We will increase the prices in the first week of April in the range of Rs 4,000-5,000,” Hyundai Motor’s regional sales manager, Kumar Priyesh, said, adding the company was ready to follow the BS IV standards from the stipulated April 1 date.

Homegrown Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra also indicated that a price hike was on the cards after April 1.

“I cannot comment on the quantum of the price hike as of now. We will take a call once the new emission norms come into effect,” Tata Motors President (Passenger Car Business Unit) Rajiv Dube said.

Auto-major Mahindra & Mahindra President (Automotive Sector) Pawan Goenka, said, “We will increase prices across all our models after the implementation of the new emission norms.”

The company would decide on its quantum soon, he added.

Other carmakers like Fiat India, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota are also likely to effect a price-hike in April though they said that they would take a call on the matter only after the new emission norms come into force.

“We will take a final call after the implementation of the new emission norms. We have not decided yet about a price hike,” Fiat India Automobile Head (Corporate Communications) Marius D’Lima said.

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), about 1.22 million cars were sold in India during April 2009 to January 2010, a 25% growth over the same period a year-ago.