The depreciating money has taken its toll on yet another auto manufacturer as Toyota has announced a price hike of one per cent on the Fortuner and Camry models. We had recently reported similar hikes by GM, Mercedes-Benz and Audi all of whom are affected by the plunging value of our currency and the rising inflation.
International car manufacturers are forced into the decision despite having local assembly plants in the country due to their dependency on foreign imports. Same is the case with the Fortuner and the Camry which depend heavily on imports as part of their assembly as compared to local manufacturing. The Fortuner which is currently priced at Rs 22.01 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) will see a hike of around Rs 22,000 while the price of the Camry will go up by close to Rs 25,000. The recently launched Camry hybrid will most likely see an increase in its price tag as Toyota should have already accounted for this before the launch.
Speaking of this increase in prices to the their models, Toyota deputy managing director and CEO, Mr Sandeep Singh said "With the rupee depreciation and rising inflation we have increased the prices of Camry Petrol and Fortuner. The prices have been increased by 1%. Last month we launched the Camry Hybrid; this is in line with offering advanced technology to our customers and encouraging the use of hybrid in India thereby contributing to a greener tomorrow. The market is still sluggish; however we hope to see the market improve with good monsoons and the upcoming festive season”.