Tata Motors, Renault mull price hike from April

Tata Motors and Renault India are looking to increase prices of their products from next month, mainly to offset higher input and operational costs.

Tata Motors is mulling increasing prices of its commercial vehicles portfolio by about 1 per cent, while Renault is yet to come out with the quantum of the hike.

"We are likely to increase commercial vehicle prices by about 1 per cent, primarily due to high input costs and continued inflationary pressures," a Tata Motors spokesperson told PTI.

Tata Motors sells a range of commercial vehicles such as light CVs, buses and trucks. The company has already stated that it also looking at increasing prices of its passenger vehicles by 1-2 per cent.

Renault said the company is evaluating the option of price hike as input costs are going up.

"The forex situation hasn't stabilised and there is definitely pressure on us and we have to pass it on partially to consumers," Renault India Country CEO and Managing Director Sumit Sawhney said.

The rupee is still around 84-85 against the euro. In the past one year, forex swing is around 25 per cent but nobody has hiked prices by 25 per cent, he added.

"Parts like ECUs are imported and if the forex goes up, we end up paying more on import duties, so we have a double impact. If we don't increase the price, it takes away our bottomline completely," Sawhney said.

Mahindra & Mahindra and Honda Cars India have already announced their intentions to increase prices of their models from next month.