Volkswagen has become the latest car manufacturer to increase the prices of its cars. This rise will be effective from January 1, 2014 onwards throughout its range.
Commenting on the increase in prices of its car lines, Mr Arvind Saxena, Managing Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, said “We have been faced with constant rise in input cost over the past several months and have tried our best to absorb it. However, in order to maintain our quality standards that our customer expects from us, we have had to increase the price by a small percentage.”
This is the second instance of Volkswagen increasing the prices of its cars this year. A hike in January had increased the prices of the Polo and the Vento.
Recently, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Nissan had also announced a hike in prices from next year joining the ranks of Mercedes, BMW, Audi and Honda. Increasing input costs, inflation coupled with adverse exchange rates of the Rupee have put a strain on car manufacturers. Also the recent drop in car sales in India has put the manufacturers in a tight spot, leaving them no option but to pass on the burden of increasing costs to the customer.