Leading car manufacturer, Tata Motors said it will hike the prices of its cars after the Government’s decision to hike central excise duties to 10%. The Government increased excise duties by 2% to 10% on all non-oil products as a step towards withdrawal of stimulus actions with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee saying the economy was on the way of revival.
P M Telang Tata Motors Managing Director, India Operations, told media that after the excise duty increase by the Finance Minister, the company can increase prices by up to Rs. 60,000 – Rs. 70,000 for heavy vehicles and Rs. 5,000 – Rs. 6,000 for lighter vehicles.
He said any alterations in the financial taxes will be passed on to the clients.
Though the car industry does not approve this hike in excise duty, the finance minister needs to balance his action, Telang said.
Price hikes are decided by many factors like goods prices, which have to be observed very closely, he said, adding an increase in steel and rubber prices is also a reason to worry.