Tata Motors To Hike Car, SUV Prices From May 8

Tata Motors Ltd. will hike the prices of its cars and utility vehicles for the second time this year as commodity prices continue to surge.

The automaker will increase the prices of its passenger vehicles by an average of 1.8% depending on the variant and model, effective May 8, according to an exchange filing. The company, however, will offer protection from the increase to customers who have booked Tata passenger vehicles on or before May 7, it said.

“Increase in prices of commodities such as steel and precious metals, necessitates us to pass on a part of it through rise in the price of our product,” Shailesh Chandra, president-passenger vehicles business, Tata Motors, said in the statement.

The company had previously hiked prices of its passenger vehicle range by up to Rs 26,000, depending on the variant, from Jan. 22. It sells passenger vehicles ranging from the hatchback Tiago with a starting price of Rs 4.85 lakh to SUV Safari tagged at up to Rs 21.4 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

This comes at a time Tata Motors is preparing to mitigate the impact of the second wave of coronavirus on its business, and has announced business agility plans to meet the demand for its vehicles. As part of that, it’s working to ensure an optimal level of inventory and is planning for critical raw materials to cater to the volatile demand outlook.

Tata Motors passenger vehicle business posted its highest-ever sales in nine years in March 2021 and Q4 FY21. In FY21, the business registered its highest-ever annual sales in eight years.

But Tata Motors isn’t the only automaker to hike prices.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the nation’s largest carmaker, too, increased prices of select models by 1.6% from April.