Car makers seem to be on the defensive now, against a rapidly depreciating rupee in the global markets.
Over the past few weeks, a weakening rupee has put a significant burden on businesses across the country. As a direct consequence of an increase in commodity and distribution costs, coupled with adverse foreign exchange rates, brands such as Maruti Suzuki and Mercedes-Benz have emerged as the first ones to announce a price hike across their range of car models.
Maruti Suzuki has issued an official statement saying that the price change for their cars will differ across models, however, the maximum hike will not go beyond ₹ 6,100 on the ex-showroom rates. The new prices will come into effect from 16th August 2018.
On the other hand, Mercedes has gone for a uniform hike of four per cent on the ex-showroom rates of their entire model range. Increasing inflation, rising input costs and an upward movement of forex rates have been cited as the reasons by the Mercedes management behind this move. Their new rates will be effective from 1st September 2018. The price hike will also be observed in retail finance rates.
Talking about prices, Maruti is also gearing up to launch the much-awaited Ciaz facelift which will pack in more equipment and even an all-new petrol engine. The price hike for the updated model will land up over and above this hike. To know more about the updated Ciaz you can check out the first images of the facelifted model. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz also has a new car launch scheduled for October 2018, that of the refreshed C-Class. The 2018 C-Class range, besides minor cosmetic changes and feature upgrades, will also feature a new 1.5-litre petrol motor whereas the diesel variant will be powered by the same 2.0-litre motor as seen on the elder sibling, the E-Class.
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