Thursday 16 August 2012

Toyota Kirloskar to hike prices by 1.5% from Sept



Japanese car maker Toyota today said it will increase the prices of its entire range of cars in India by around 1.5 per cent with effect from September 1 to partly offset losses due to the rupee depreciation.

This is the second hike since June by Toyota's Indian subsidiary, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM). It had raised the prices then by up to 1 per cent due to impact of rupee fall.

"The rupee depreciation has hit us very badly and it is affecting our margins. We are trying to hold this as far as possible. We are forced to pass on the burden partially to our customers," (TKM) Deputy Managing Director (Marketing) Sandeep Singh told PTI.

"Although we have not finalised the quantum of the hike, it will be around 1.5 per cent," he added.

The company will increase the prices of all its models with effect from September 1.

TKM imports many critical components such as engines and transmissions for its different models in India.

The rupee today fell by 34 paise to 55.99 against the US dollar in the early trade.

At present, TKM's compact car Liva is priced between Rs 4.10 lakh and Rs 6.32 lakh, while Etios sedan is priced at Rs 5.14 lakh to Rs 8.23 lakh.

The multi utility vehicle Innova is available for Rs 8.98 lakh to Rs 13.72 lakh and the premium sedan Corolla Altis is offered at Rs 11 lakh to Rs 15.43 lakh.

TKM's sports utility vehicle Fortuner is priced between Rs 20.89 lakh and Rs 22.04 lakh.

All these prices are as per the company's official website, and for ex-showroom, Delhi.

On June 1, TKM had announced raising prices of select models by up to 1 per cent due to rupee depreciation.

The company had raised prices of the diesel version of its sedan Etios and multi-utility vehicle Innova.

Earlier, the company had said it was planning to rev up exports from India to reduce losses.

The company, which is a joint venture between Japan's Toyota Motor and Kirloskar Group, entered the export market with the first consignment of its Etios cars, which were shipped to South Africa in April 2012.

TKM had planned to export 20,000 units of the Etios series per annum.

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