Mercedes-Benz India to hike car prices on rising costs

Mercedes-Benz’s India unit will increase the price of its cars by up to 2% starting January due to rising raw material and logistics costs, the luxury carmaker said on Friday.

The company said that the euro-rupee exchange rate has traded persistently above the 100 rupee ($1.11) mark this year, increasing operational costs.

The prolonged volatility “affects every aspect of our operations, from imported components for local production, to completely built units,” Santosh Iyer, Mercedes-Benz India’s MD and CEO said in a statement.

The company said it is considering further quarterly price adjustments to better align with current foreign exchange rates. It added that it is absorbing a majority of cost pressures and passing a nominal portion to customers.

Mercedes leads sales of luxury vehicles in India, followed by BMW and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).