General Motors to Raise Car Prices from January, Mulls over Strategies to Counter Shrinking Demands

General Motors India announced that the company will hike the car prices in the country from January in the wake of rising input cost.

The quantum of the price hike will vary from ₹5,000 and ₹20,000 depending upon the models and their variants. The increased price will come into effect from 1 January 2015.

"We have decided to increase the price of all car models to the tune of one per cent with effect from January 1 due to input cost pressure," PTI quoted P Balendran, General Motors India Vice President, as saying.

It was reported earlier that the auto majors like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Honda are mulling over increasing the prices of its models in the country due to rise in the cost of raw materials and logistic.

In November, GM sold 4,157 units of vehicles in the country as opposed to 6,214 units in the same month last year, equating to a decline of 36%.

It is for sure all is not well with GM India. In its bid to boost the sales in December, GM also announced exciting offers and benefits to customers on purchase of all models except Captiva SUV. The offer includes cash discount, loyalty bonus, exchange bonus and corporate discounts, which add up to the range of ₹55,000-₹85,500.

The company is also said to be working on a new strategy that will focus on the export market of GM and as well as the entry of the car-maker into new segments like compact sedan.

A report of Economic Times reveals that the company is currently working on a new compact sedan codenamed MCM and the model is likely to make its debut in 2017 alongside the new generation Beat hatchback.

The report also adds that GM, which currently exports Beat to Chile, is also looking at the possibility of adding new markets in the export list. The latest move is said to be triggered by the shrinking demands in the domestic market despite the launch of new cars like Enjoy MPV and Sail.