Rupee effect: Mercedes-Benz India to hike <b>car prices</b> from today <b>...</b> |
| Rupee effect: Mercedes-Benz India to hike <b>car prices</b> from today <b>...</b> Posted: 31 Aug 2013 09:29 PM PDT NEW DELHI: German luxury car maker Mercedes- Benz on Thursday said it will hike prices of its entire model range in India by up to 4.5 percent from September 1 to partly offset impact of rupee depreciation and higher import duties. The quantum of price revision will be in the range of 2.5 percent to 4.5 per cent across the models that the company sell in India. With the latest price revision, the company's new A-Class 180 CDI luxury compact car will now be priced at Rs 22.05 lakh, an increase of 4 per cent, Mercedes- Benz India said in a statement.  The newly launched E-Class 200 CGI saloon, will now be available at Rs 42.16 lakh, up by 3.5 per cent while the sports utility vehicle ML-Class 250 CDI would be expensive by 4 per cent at Rs 50.98 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Mumbai). The B-Class 180 CDI model will now be pricier by 4 per cent at Rs 23.50 lakh while the C-Class 200 CGI sedan will now cost Rs 32.25 lakh, an increase of 2.5 per cent, it added. The newly launched E-Class 200 CGI saloon, will now be available at Rs 42.16 lakh, up by 3.5 percent while the sports utility vehicle ML-Class 250 CDI would be expensive by 4 percent at Rs 50.98 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Mumbai). "The rising input costs along with higher import duties have been creating significant pressure on our bottomlines for quite some time now. The constant weakening of the currency and the increase in other relevant taxes further impacted the business, adversely," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Eberhard Kern said. He said the company has been been absorbing a significant portion of these impacts till now, but to run a sustained and profitable business in the long run, revising the prices upwards was inevitable. When asked if the rupee continued to slide against the dollar further, would the company hike the price, Kern said: "The price hike that we are undertaking does not cover the impact of the current exchange rate hit and if this continues we will have to have a re-look at the pricing. We are hoping that the exchange rate returns to a reasonable level." Earlier this week, General Motors India had hiked the price of its three models by up to Rs 10,000 from the first week of September due to a sharp depreciation in the rupee against the US dollar. Earlier this month, BMW group had also hiked price of its products across models, including the Mini, by up to 5 per cent. Last month, Audi had also hiked prices across its models in India by up to 4 per cent, a maximum of Rs 4.42 lakh on its R8 model to offset the impact of the rupee depreciation and rise in input costs. The rupee has been weakening against the dollar for a prolonged period. It had yesterday registered its biggest single-day fall of 256 paise to close at an all-time low of 68.80 against the dollar as global oil prices jumped, deepening concerns about the current account deficit and capital outflows. PTI  |
| Cubans aghast at <b>car prices</b> as new law kicks in | Nation & World <b>...</b> Posted: 04 Jan 2014 06:54 PM PST Originally published January 4, 2014 at 7:53 PM | Page modified January 5, 2014 at 9:48 PM HAVANA — Talk about sticker shock! Cubans are eagerly flocking to Havana car dealerships as a new law takes effect eliminating a special permit requirement that has greatly restricted vehicle ownership in the country. To their dismay on Friday, the first day the law was in force, they found sharply hiked prices, some of them light years beyond all but the most well-heeled islanders. A new Kia Rio hatchback that starts at $13,600 in the United States sells for $42,000 here, while a fresh-off-the-lot Peugeot 508 family car, the most luxurious of which lists for the equivalent of about $53,000 in the U.K., will set you back a cool $262,000. "Between all my family here in Cuba and over in Miami, we couldn't come up with that kind of money," said Gilbert Losada, a 28-year-old musical director. "We're going to wait and see if they lower the prices, which are really crazy. We're really disappointed." Cuba's Communist-run government traditionally has placed huge markups on retail goods and services paid for with hard currency, a policy that amounts to a tax on people who can afford such goods. The practice applies to everything from dried pasta, to household appliances, to Internet access. The astronomical sticker prices on the cars will likely mean fewer sales and the state leaving money on the table, noted Philip Peters, a longtime Cuba analyst and president of the Virginia-based Cuba Research Center. "There's a lot more money to be made at lower price points," Peters said. "It's a short-sighted tax-man's mentality. ... Paradoxically, they mark it up so much that they're not going to make any money. But that's the mentality." Havana legalized the sale of used cars by private individuals in 2011. But longstanding rules remained in place requiring Cubans to obtain a Transportation Ministry permit to purchase a new or used car from state-run dealerships. Permission took months or years to obtain, resulting in a black market in which car buyers would often quickly flip them for a big profit. The new law eliminates the need for a permit, but does not allow Cubans to import automobiles directly. The government retains its monopoly on that, and alone decides a vehicle's market value. Some exceptions will still exist allowing diplomatic missions and foreign entities to import vehicles. The Ferrari-like price schedules for even mundane new cars are a signal that automotive scarcity and high demand will likely continue to reign in Cuba, which is famous for the 1950s American cars that still rumble through the streets long after they became museum pieces elsewhere. Because replacing a car is so difficult, those lucky enough to own a finned Detroit classic or a boxy Russian import go to great lengths to keep them on the road as long as possible, swapping in makeshift parts and resorting to creative soldering. At a used car dealership in western Havana on Friday, there were a few relatively affordable options. A 1997 BMW was the cheapest vehicle and the first to sell shortly after the dealership opened at 8 a.m. It went for $14,457 to a young man who declined to talk to reporters, so it wasn't known many miles it had previously logged. But even many of the used cars had eye-popping asking prices, such as a 2009 Hyundai minivan that listed for $110,000. "Let's see if a revolutionary worker who lives honorably on his salary can come and buy a car at these prices," said Guillermo Flores, a 27-year-old computer engineer. "This is a joke on the people." In the past, permit holders typically bought used vehicles, often former rentals with high odometer readings that went for around $5,000-$8,000. New imports generally sold at about a 100 percent markup before. There was no explanation for the sudden, across-the-board spike in prices. Most Cubans still earn government salaries that average around $20 a month, though some make significantly more as musicians, artists, employees of foreign companies and diplomats and doctors sent on foreign missions. Many others get financial support from relatives overseas. But some who had managed to scrape together some savings said they're now priced out of the market. "With these prices ... those who will be able to buy are the privileged, or the bandits," said Alfredo Boue, a 25-year-old cook. "I think the bandits are not the ones (stealing) in the streets, but the people who set these prices." People were aghast and angry as they perused a list of prices posted outside the dealership. Some said it felt like something out of science fiction. One woman asked sarcastically if there were any bicycles, because surely that would be the only thing she could afford. Priority was given to people who had obtained a permit under the old system, but Antonio Diaz, a 66-year-old retiree who came expecting to pay $5,000, left empty-handed and disgusted. "What am I going to do with this letter?" he said, brandishing his now-useless permit. "I can't buy anything. I don't have the money. That was supposed to be the car for my old age, which I was going to buy after a lifetime of work." "I'll have to resign myself to living without a car," Diaz said, shaking his head. ___ Associated Press writer Peter Orsi in Havana contributed. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from car prices - Google Blog Search To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment