Ford India is going to raise the prices of its entire car fleet in the country up to 3% effective January 2012. This price rise has been attributed to the rising costs of input and the depreciating Rupee. Nigel Wark, Executive Director – Marketing & Sales Services, Ford India said that the continuous depreciation of the Rupee at a first rate since the last three months has caused an increasing rise in input costs, which was affecting the company greatly. This has ultimately forced the manufacturer to increase the prices of all its products by 2% to 3%.
The price hike is going to take effect from 1st January, 2012. Nigel Wark said that some of the Ford models including the Ford Figo make maximum use of localized products. However, the company suppliers had to import both raw materials and technology and were facing great duress from the same. This had caused its operating costs to go up significantly in these past few months. Ford India has revised the prices of its products thrice in 2011, which does not auger well for the company. The Ford Figo has a price range between Rs.3.71 lakh and Rs.5.73 lakh, while the Ford Endeavour ranges from Rs.17.07 lakh to Rs.20.13 lakh.
The Ford Fiesta Classic, the sedan from Ford India, is being sold between Rs.5.50 lakh and Rs.8.20 lakh with the Ford Fiesta ranging from Rs.8.25 lakh to Rs.10.44 lakh. Ford India, however, is not standing alone in hiking rates of their vehicles with Hyundai Motors, the second largest manufacturer of cars in India, towing similar lines. HMIL is planning an increase in car prices by 1.5% to 2% effective January 2012 attributing it to the same reasons as given by Ford India. It is also being rumored that General Motors and Toyota Kirloskar are also considering increase in their vehicle prices from January 2012 onwards.
