Mahindra hikes vehicle prices by up to 2%

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra hiked the prices of its entire range of products, such as the Scorpio, the Xylo and the Bolero, by up to 2 per cent last month because of rising raw material costs and certain planned increases.

“Margins have been a concern as raw material costs have been rising. Therefore, we had to raise prices last month by 1.5-2 per cent,” Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Senior Vice-President (Marketing - Automotive Sector), Mr Vivek Nayer, told reporters here.

In January this year, M&M had raised vehicle prices by about 1.5 per cent, followed by another upward revision of 1.5-2 per cent in April.

On the sales front, Mr Nayer said: “We are cautiously optimistic. The last two months have been good.”

M&M registered a 31.09 per cent rise in domestic sales at 35,756 units in August compared with the year-ago period. In July, it had witnessed a jump of 41.90 per cent at 37,323 units over the corresponding period last year.

IN BUDDH CIRCUIT

On Monday, the automobile major announced a five-year association with the Buddh International Circuit (BIC). The company will provide 25 Scorpios as the official support vehicles to the BIC, at its facility in Greater Noida. In return, BIC will support the Mahindra ‘Adventure Initiatives' throughout the year, such as The Great Escape and the Monastery Escape rallies.

Speaking at an event, Mr Nayer said that the company had not made any major mechanical changes to the car. But BIC, under guidance of F1 may add some features to the vehicles such as fire-fighting equipment.