Steel and fuel costs force Indian automakers to hike prices

Steel and fuel costs force Indian automakers to hike prices

Indian automakers started to increase their prices. Hyundai Motors raised prices of its popular Santro and Accent models while the biggest automaker Maruti Udyog Ltd and Skoda Auto India announced that they are planning to hike prices from January 2005. The price increases are attributed to higher costs and rising prices of steel and fuel. Major Indian steel producers have announced price hikes. Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) has increased its prices of hot rolled steel products in the range of Rupees 500-800 ($11-18) per ton and Tata Iron and Steel Corp. (TISCO) also raised its prices by Rupees 500-600 ($11-13.5) per ton. According to recent market news, Jindal Vijayanagar, Essar Steel and Ispat Industries are expected to increase their prices. The reason behind the steel price hikes is freight rates increases. Hyundai President B.V.R Subbu said the Accent GLE will cost Rupees 6'000 more and the Santro Rupees 8'000 more effective as of December 2, 2004, i.e today. Hyundai has last raised prices by Rupees 10'500 on its Santro and Sonata models. Maruti and Skoda did not announce how much their prices will increase.