Honda Cars India hikes prices of vehicles by up to 3%

The month of December has so far witnessed announcement from seven car makers in India regarding price rise of their vehicles next year, starting from January. The latest to join the bandwagon is Honda. The Japanese carmaker will increase the price of its vehicles by up to 3 percent from January 1.

"Due to the increasing pressure on input costs and fluctuating exchange rates, we are forced to consider increasing the car prices across our line-up. The increased price will be effective from first week of January 2017," Yoichiro Ueno, president and CEO, Honda Cars India, said.

Honda India's product portfolio includes the Brio and Jazz hatchbacks, Amaze, City and the recently-launched Accord Hybrid sedans, BR-V and CR-V SUVs and the Mobilio MPV. The range is priced from Rs 4.69 lakh to Rs 37 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi.

Honda is one of the carmakers in the country experiencing a dip in sales for the past couple of months. Its sales slumped by 45.4 percent in November 2016 and market share got reduced to 2.9 percent last month. Honda sold 202 units of the Brio in November 2016, while Honda Jazz found 2,655 takers. The sales figures of Amaze, City, Mobilio, BR-V, CR-V and Accord Hybrid were 1,971, 2,658, 101, 419, 21, and two units, respectively.

The demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes, and the subsequent cash crunch dealt a blow to the footfalls and enquiries at the showrooms of Honda, just like other carmakers. With the price hike in January, it remains to be seen how Honda will recover from the slow sales in 2017.

Honda Cars India joins other carmakers such as Toyota Kirlosakar Motor, Tata Motors, Renault India, Nissan India, Mercedes-Benz India, Hyundai India and Volkswagen India, which have already announced a hike in vehicle prices from January 1 2017.