Mercedes raises car prices in India

German luxury automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz India Thursday said it is increasing prices of its entire range of models by between 2.5 percent-4.5 percent from Sep 1, an official said.

The decision follows the sharp depreciation in the rupee value, high import duty and rising input costs.

"Rising input costs along with higher import duties have been creating significant pressure on our bottomlines for quite some time now," said Eberhard Kern, managing director and chief executive, Mercedes-Benz India.

"Constant weakening of the currency and the increase in other relevant taxes further impacted the business, adversely."

The Indian rupee has lost more than 19 percent against the dollar since the beginning of the financial year. On Wednesday, the partially-convertible rupee touched a new record low of 68.80 against the dollar.