Hyundai to hike car prices by upto Rs 20,000

Korean carmaker Hyundai today announced its decision to raise prices across all its models by Rs 3,000 to Rs 20,000. The price hike has been introduced in an effort to offset the impact of rupee depreciation and increase in cost of raw materials, the company said in a statement today. The increase in price will be effective from August 16, 2016.

“The rupee depreciation and increase in raw materials' cost have impacted our overall costs. We have been absorbing most of the costs, but now we are compelled to consider the price increase,” Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice president, sales and marketing said, commenting on the price hike.

Hyundai Motor India’s line-up of cars includes the Eon, i10, Grand i10, Elite i20, Active i20, Xcent, Verna, Elantra Santa Fe and the popular Creta SUV, which retail via 451 dealerships across India.

This move from Hyundai follows the hike recently announced by country’s top-selling carmaker Maruti Suzuki to increase prices of the Vitara Brezza and the Baleno by upto Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively, and that of select models across its portfolio in the range of Rs 1,500-5,000.

Interestingly, both Hyundai and Maruti had announced a price hike around the same time in 2015 as well. It is likely that other carmakers may follow suit in the near term. 

Hyundai, the country’s second-largest carmaker, registered domestic sales of 41,201 units in July 2016, up 12.9 percent year-on-year (July 2015: 36,503). The carmaker has seen good traction in the domestic market for its Elite i20 hatchback and the Creta SUV. The Creta has been a game-changer for the company and has been driving overall numbers for the Korean carmaker.