Bajaj Auto to hike bike prices by up to Rs 1,500 from January; Dominar 400 price will remain unchanged

Bajaj Auto will hike the prices of its entire range of motorcycles by up to Rs 1,500 with effect from January 1, 2017. The decision has been taken in order to partially offset the impact of rising input costs and upgrading of its entire portfolio to BS-IV emission levels.

"All two-wheeler manufacturers in the country are trying to be BS-IV compliant by April next year. We want to be the first ones to transition to the next emission levels," Eric Vas, Bajaj Auto's president for motorcycle business, told PTI. "As a consequence of shifting to BS-IV norms we will be hiking the prices of our bikes between Rs 700 and Rs 1,500, depending upon specific models, from next month," Vas said.

Eric also informed that some of the motorcycles of the company have already upgraded as per BS-IV norms while rest f the products will move to next level of emission norms by the middle of next month. Bajaj Auto has exempted its new and flagship motorcycle, the Dominar 400 from the price hike.

"The price hike is due to the transition to BS4 and also to accommodate an increase in raw material costs as well" Vas elaborated further on the reasons for taking a price hike. As per the guidelines from Government of India, all new two-wheeler models from April 2017 have to comply with BS-IV emission norms, on a pan-India basis.

Bajaj Auto joins other automakers such as Hyundai, Nissan, Renault, Toyota, Tata Motors, Mercedes-Benz and Isuzu which already announced a hike in prices of their products from January to offset higher input costs and an adverse impact of foreign exchange fluctuations.