At the beginning of this financial year in April 2021, several carmakers like Maruti Suzuki, Renault and Toyota announced a price hike across their entire product portfolio. Now, more carmakers are announcing the same for their products with effect from May 2021. The latest development comes from Tata Motors, who have increased prices across its range including the Safari, Harrier, Nexon and others from today, May 8, 2021. The quantum of the price hike is by up to 1.8 percent, depending on the model and variant.
The increased prices are effective on all bookings made from May 8, 2021. Tata Motors have confirmed that customers who booked Tata cars on or before May 7 this year will be protected from the price increase. The price hike is a part of Tata's 'Business Agility Plan' to protect and serve the interests of its customers, dealers and suppliers. Moreover, it is a fairly common practice for carmakers to increase the price of their vehicles at the beginning of a financial year.
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Commenting on the price hike Shailesh Chandra, President - Passenger Vehicles Business, said,
"Increase in prices of commodities, such as steel and precious metals, necessitates us to pass on a part of it through an increase in the price of our products. Keeping in mind the interest of customers who have booked cars already, we are offering price protection for all bookings done till date (on or before 7th May 2021). This price increase will be effective for bookings made thereafter (effective 8 May 2021). Our 'New Forever' product range continues to witness strong acceptance in the market and we are thankful to our customers for their continued trust in the brand."
Like most other carmakers, Tata Motors have also cited rising input and material costs to be the reason for this price hike. Continued supply chain related issues have further squeezed out the margins for automakers. Just as demand for new cars were beginning to become relatively stable, the country has been hit hard by the second wave of the pandemic. Tata Motor's production facilities currently remain closed due to lockdown imposed in several states.
This also affected the carmaker's sales in April 2021, recording a massive 41% month-on-month de-growth last month. A similar situation is expected to prevail this month as well. This price hike is, in fact, the second time this year that Tata is increasing the price of its vehicles. The automaker had previously increased prices in January by up to INR 26,000.
Stay tuned to IndianAutosBlog.com for more Tata updates and other four-wheeler news.
