| Business News|

'Auto companies may hike prices in April

Mumbai, 09 March 2010: Tata Motors on Monday said the auto industry is likely to hike prices of vehicles in April, as it will not be able to absorb the extra cost in meeting Euro-IV fuel emission norms. “There will be a price hike across the industry when the Euro-IV norms come in to effect,” said Tata Motors passenger car division president Rajiv Dube.

“We cannot say now by how much the price will be hiked, but a hike is definite, as companies cannot absorb the extra cost in meeting the new norms,” he said. Automobile makers have already increased prices of their vehicles after the government announced a roll-back of excise duty in the Union Budget. Meanwhile, the home-grown auto major would commercially launch its premium cross over model ‘Aria’ in the middle of this year, Mr Dube said.

“Aria, which is a cross-over of a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), Multi- Purpose Vehicle (MPV) and a Sedan, will be launched in the middle of this year.” It would be priced higher than the Safari, he said. “We haven’t announced the price band of this product. But as it is a premium and sophisticated product, it will be priced above the Safari,” he added.

The company has started receiving bookings for Jaguar XJ model, which will be launched by the end of the first quarter of the next fiscal, he said.