• Tata Motors and Kia India have announced a price hike across their passenger vehicles due to rising input costs and inflation.
• Tata Motors' price increase is up to 3%, while Kia India's is up to 2%.
• Other automakers like Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hyundai Motor India Limited have also announced price hikes.
• Despite the price hikes, these companies are absorbing a significant portion of the cost increase to minimize the financial impact on customers.

In a significant development in the Indian automobile industry, Tata Motors and Kia India have announced a price hike across their passenger vehicles portfolio, including electric vehicles (EVs), effective from January. The price increase, which will vary depending on the model and variant, is being implemented to partially offset the rise in input costs and inflation.

Tata Motors, a leading Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company, has announced a price hike of up to 3% across its passenger vehicles. This decision comes in the wake of rising input costs and inflation, which have been impacting the automaker's operations.

Similarly, Kia India, a subsidiary of the South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer Kia Corporation, has also announced a price hike of up to 2% across its entire lineup. The price increase is primarily due to rising commodity prices and escalating supply chain-related costs.

Automakers' Response to Rising Costs

Hardeep Singh Brar, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Kia India, stated, At Kia, we are committed to delivering exceptional, technologically advanced vehicles of the highest quality to our valued customers. However, due to the persistent rise in commodity prices, unfavorable exchange rates, and increased input costs, a necessary price adjustment has become unavoidable. He further added that despite these challenges, Kia is absorbing a significant portion of the cost increase, minimizing the financial impact on customers.

Kia has made significant strides in the Indian and overseas markets, selling 1.6 million units to date. Its best-selling innovation, Seltos, has surpassed 670,000-unit sales, followed by Sonet with over 480,000 units, Carens with 214,400 units, and Carnival with over 15,000 units.

Price Hikes Across the Industry

This trend of price hikes is not limited to Tata Motors and Kia India. Other automakers like Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) have already announced price hikes for their SUVs, PVs, and commercial vehicle (CV) range, effective from January.

Maruti Suzuki India, the largest automobile manufacturer in India, has announced that it will hike the prices of its cars from January 1 by up to 4%, and it will vary depending on the models. Similarly, Hyundai Motor India announced an increase in prices owing to an increase in input costs and other factors. The price increase will be done across models, and the extent of increase will be up to Rs 25,000, said the automaker.

This trend of price hikes is not a new phenomenon in the automobile industry. In the past, car manufacturers have revised their prices due to various factors such as rising input costs, inflation, and changes in exchange rates. For instance, in January 2022, Citroen, a French automobile manufacturer, revealed its plans to revise the ex-showroom price of the C5 Aircross. The company hiked the prices of the Feel and Shine variants by up to three per cent, attributing this hike to the continued rise in the cost of commodities and ocean freight cost.