Tata Motors is one of the top three carmakers in India and has come a long way from launching iconic SUVs Sierra and Sumo to buying British auto major Jaguar Landrover from Ford. With top selling EVs like Nexon and Tigor, Tata has also captured 88 per cent of the country’s emerging e-car market. But little over a month after launching India’s cheapest EV Tiago at Rs 8.49 lakh, Tata has announced a marginal price hike from Monday November 7.
How much more will you have to pay?
There will be an average increase of 0.9 per cent which could change from model to model, since the company has been absorbing increasing costs and will be passing on some of that to the consumer. This is a small price increase, which follows another marginal hike of 0.55 per cent on its passenger vehicles such as Tiago, Nexon and Safari among others, in July this year. The company did register a 15.49 rise in sales for the month of October, as consumers in India bought a record four lakh cars across Indian brands, in the festive season between Navratri and Diwali.
Costs shadow festive glitter?
The festival shopping drove revenue for the auto sector, as dealers made Rs 1000 crore everyday and the turnover for the month hit Rs 32,000 crore. Tata was among local car manufacturers which doubled deliveries during the festive season. Apart from the steel to car brand, Maruti had also hiked prices earlier this year, and Hyundai increased rates of passenger vehicles in September this year.
What’s making cars costlier for Indians?
Costs will be higher because of sophisticated equipment such as an onboard system to monitor emissions and a shortage of microchips. Even today the average percentage of households with a car in India is just 7.5 per cent, and price rises make it further out of reach for a large population. Tata had tried to cater to the Indian aspiration for four-wheelers with an affordable car Nano priced at Rs 1 lakh, but the project failed to meet expectations and the model was discontinued.
