According to a Reuters report, Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra has announced that, starting in April, it will raise the prices of its SUVs and other commercial vehicles in response to rising production costs. The price hike will be up to 3%, making Mahindra the latest Indian automaker to announce price increases in recent weeks.
Mahindra stated that the price adjustment is mainly due to increased input costs and rising commodity prices. The company emphasized that the price hike will follow a differentiated strategy, with specific increases varying based on the market positioning and cost structure of different models. While Mahindra has absorbed a significant portion of the cost surge, it must still pass some of the burden onto end consumers.
Automakers typically adjust prices at the beginning of a new fiscal year. This will be Mahindra's second price increase of the year, following the first adjustment in January. The new pricing strategy will apply to all Mahindra models, including traditional internal combustion engine vehicles as well as electric models such as the BE 6 and XEV 9e.
Prior to Mahindra's announcement, leading players in the Indian market, including Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, and Hyundai Motor India, had already declared plans to raise car prices by 2% to 4% starting next month. This wave of price hikes is driven by multiple factors, including rising global commodity prices, persistently high import duties on raw materials, and additional cost pressures caused by supply chain disruptions.
Meanwhile, the latest sales data shows that Mahindra's total vehicle sales, including exports, reached 83,702 units in February, marking a 15% year-on-year increase. In the domestic market, Mahindra's SUV sales rose 19% year-on-year to 50,420 units, while total SUV sales, including exports, stood at 52,386 units. Additionally, the company sold 23,826 commercial vehicles in India. These figures indicate that despite cost pressures, Mahindra continues to perform well in the market, particularly with significant growth in its SUV segment.
