Honda, Hyundai hike prices by up to Rs 10,000

Car makers Honda Cars India and Hyundai Motors India today said they have hiked prices of their vehicles by up to Rs 10,000 to offset increased cost of on board diagnostic compliance changes (OBDC).

While Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) said its hike will range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 across models, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) said the price increase will be between Rs 575 and  Rs 2,830.

HCIL said its hatchback Brio will be dearer by Rs 2,000 from the existing price of Rs 4.10 lakh. The automatic variant of the car will see the steepest hike of Rs 10,000 from the current price of Rs 5.74 lakh.

The company's City sedan will cost Rs 3,000 more. It is currently priced at Rs 7.26 lakh. Similarly, the premium sedan Accord will be dearer by Rs 5,000 from the current price of Rs 20.30 lakh.

The sports utility vehicle CR-V will be costlier by Rs 1,000. CR-V is at present available between Rs 20.43 lakh and Rs 22.94 lakh.

HMIL Vice President, Sales and Marketing,  Rakesh Srivastava said: "The price increase was necessitated due to On Board Diagnostic Compliance Changes. We have tried to absorb the maximum cost to minimise the price increase to cause less inconvenience to our valued customers.'

Due to the price hike, HMIL's entry level compact car Eon will be costlier by Rs 2,500 from its current starting price of Rs 2.77 lakh. Santro will cost Rs 2,830 more from its existing starting price of Rs 2.97 lakh.

The price hike in i10 hatchback ranges between Rs 600 and Rs 900. It is currently available at a starting price of Rs 3.74 lakh.

HMIL's premium hatchback i20 will now be costlier by Rs 575. The petrol variant of i20 starts at Rs 4.84 lakh, while that of diesel is 5.99 lakh.

The petrol and diesel options of mid-sized sedan Verna will cost Rs 1,340 more now from its previous starting price of Rs 7.22 lakh and 8.44 lakh for petrol and diesel respectively.

Likewise, the Elantra sedan will be dearer by Rs 1,740. It's petrol option is available for a starting price of Rs 12.68 lakh, while the diesel one starts at Rs 13.08 lakh.

The company's premium sedan Sonata will witness a hike of Rs 2,813 from the prevailing starting price of Rs 18.76 lakh, while its SUV SantaFe, which starts at Rs 23.36 lakh, will cost Rs 2,813 more now.

Ministry of Road Transport had in 2010 notified that OBD II will be effective from April 1, 2013 to ensure that vehicles follow emission levels and whenever it is not followed, it would flash on the display panel of the vehicle.

In general terms, OBD provides information on state of health for various vehicle sub-systems to a vehicle owner or mechanic.