The country's leading automobile firm, Tata Motors, today said it has increased prices of some of its commercial vehicles by around 1 per cent on account of rising input costs and addition of new features.
"Tata Motors has passed on some (input cost) burden to customers in specific segments ... We have increased prices by about one per cent from this month," Tata Motors President (Commercial Vehicle Business Unit) Ravi Pisharody told reporters at the 10th Auto Expo here.
While all heavy vehicles (16 tonnes and above) will be affected by the price hike, some models in the lower tonnage (3.5-7 tonnes) will also be impacted, he added.
The prices of steel, a major input in manufacturing of vehicles, have gone up by about $60-80 a tonne in the past two months to over $550 a tonne due to rise in demand and increase in input cost.
On withdrawal of stimulus measures introduced by the government to boost demand in the economy during the slowdown, he said if stimulus is withdrawn, the sector will see some temporary slackening in demand.
"But the outlook looks good as the fundamentals of our economy is strong," he added.
Tata Motors will also launch 15 new models in the commercial vehicle segment over the next 12 months.
"Of these 15 models, three models will be in the 'Prima' range and will be launched in the current quarter," he said.
Tata Motors, one of the country's largest automobile company, registered consolidated revenue of Rs 70,938.85 crore (USD 14 billion) in 2008-09.