Maruti, Skoda, Tata, Volkswagen to hike prices from January

Carmakers have cited rising input and operational costs as the primary reason for the price hike.

Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Skoda and Tata are among several carmakers that have announced a price hike for their models, starting January 2022. It is fairly common for car manufacturers to hike prices at the start of the calendar year, owing to exchange-rate fluctuations and rising input and material costs. Not just mass-market carmakers, but even luxury brands like Mercedes and Audi have announced a price hike across their product portfolio. Let’s take a look at all manufacturers who are set to hike prices from next month.

Maruti Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki was one of the first to announce a price hike from January 2022. The price hike will be applicable on all Maruti Arena and Nexa models, although it will vary from model to model. And while Maruti hasn’t announced the extent of price hike on each individual model yet, expect the updated prices to be revealed before December 31. In 2021 itself, Maruti hiked the price of its models three times – the first in January, the second in April and the third in September.

Honda

Honda is also expected to hike the price of its models from next month. The carmaker has said that they are studying how much of the rising input and commodity costs can be absorbed by the company and how much needs to be passed on to the customer. Expect an official announcement in the coming days. The price hike is expected to affect all Honda models in India.  

Renault

Renault too is looking to increase the price of its vehicles from January. Like all other carmakers, Renault too has cited rising input and material costs as the reason behind the price hike. Renault currently has four models on sale in India – Kwid, Triber, Kiger and Duster – and all models are expected to see a notable increase in price. 

Tata Motors

Homegrown carmaker Tata Motors has also announced a price hike across its entire portfolio of vehicles, effective from January 2022. This includes both, its commercial and passenger vehicles. While Tata has specified a bump in price by 2.5 percent for its commercial vehicles, they haven’t quoted an exact figure for the passenger vehicle range. However, it will be applicable across all their models – electric and ICE-powered – including the newly launched Tata Punch.

Toyota

Prices of all Toyota vehicles will also become dearer from January 2022. Toyota, too, has not announced the quantum of the price hike, but they have said that it will be applicable on all models. The extent of the price hike is expected to vary from model to model. In India, Toyota currently sells the Innova Crysta and the Fortuner, and the badge-engineered Urban Cruiser and Glanza. This too has been motivated by rising input and commodity costs.

Skoda

Skoda has announced that all of its models on sale in India – Kushaq, Octavia and Superb – will see a bump in price by 3 percent from January 2022. The exact model and variant-wise price hike will be revealed next month. That said, Skoda has rolled out price hikes on its models very few times in 2021, with the Kushaq, Octavia and Superb seeing only a single price hike each.

Volkswagen

Volkswagen has announced that a price hike ranging between 2 to 5 percent will be rolled out on the Polo, Vento and Taigun, effective from January 1, 2022. The carmaker is yet to announce the quantum of the price hike for each individual model. The recently launched Volkswagen Tiguan facelift has, however, been left out of the purview of the price hike.

Citroen

Citroen’s sole model on sale in India – the C5 Aircross – will see a 3 percent hike on its ex-showroom price. This will be the second price hike on the C5 Aircross in a span of two month, with the previous one having arrived in November this year, where the price of the car was increased by up to Rs 1.30 lakh. The C5 Aircross currently retails in India at a price ranging between Rs 31.30 lakh-32.80 lakh (ex-showroom, India).

Mercedes-Benz

Among luxury carmakers, Mercedes-Benz has announced a price hike of 2 percent on select models, although the company is providing a price protection on some models. Mercedes has clarified that customers who have booked their MY2021 models and are awaiting their delivery will get them at the price when it was booked. Additionally, customers who book select range of cars such as the A-Class, GLA, and E-Class until December 31, will be offered a price protection as well.

Audi

As for Audi, the carmaker will be rolling out a price hike of 3 percent on its entire product portfolio from January 2022. Like all other carmakers, Audi has also cited rising input and operational costs as the reason behind the price hike.

What’s your reaction to the slew of price hikes announced by so many carmakers ahead of the new year? Let us know in the comments below. 

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