Mercedes-Benz India is likely to announce a price hike for all its models by next week in a bid to counter the falling rupee.
The company, which is mulling over a price hike for the past couple of months, may take a final call on the matter by the next week, said top officials of the company. However, the quantum of the price hike is yet to be declared by the company.
Auto companies like BMW and Audi have also announced a price hike earlier this month in its efforts to counter the impact of currency fluctuation and higher input costs.
"It (price hike) is inevitable. We can't cover (rupee depreciation) and part of it (increase) would have to be passed on to customers," said Eberhard Kern, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India as quoted by PTI.
Mercedes-Benz India, which has registered a 50 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in June alone, is looking forward to increase its sales in the country by the end of this financial year. The company has increased its investment to ₹850 crore in its plant in Chakan, Pune, and plans to double its Pune assembly facility to 20,000 units a year.
Meanwhile, Mercedes's first assemble in India, GL Class luxury SUV will hit the roads on 26 August. The car, which has already got 100 buyers in the country, is likely to see a price drop with the introduction of the locally assembled units.
"The Indian subsidiary of Mercedes has now notified us that the CKD assembly of the latest gen GL Class would commence in the last week of August," reported Motoroids.
