Two wheeler major Bajaj Auto on Friday said it was planning to increase prices of its vehicles across segments due to rise in input costs.
“It seems likely that we have to raise prices because commodity prices have gone up significantly, partly owing to the way forex has moved. So, I think, yes, we are looking at a price increase,” Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj told reporters here.
He was speaking on the sidelines of an AIMA event in New Delhi.
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“We have not decided how much and when but it is inevitable that in the near term there will be a price increase,” he added.
When asked about the previous price hike, Rajiv Bajaj said the company had last increased prices of its vehicles five to six months ago, and the rupee at that time was close to 53-54 against the dollar.
“That (rupee value) has changed significantly, and as a result domestic players have increased prices of their products. So, there is a lot of cost pressure,” he added.
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On being asked if the price rise would cover the entire range of products, Mr. Bajaj said, “It would be across most products because when the commodities (prices) go up, they affect all the segments.”
On new launches, Mr. Bajaj said the company will be launching new variants of Pulsar and Discover in next three months.
When asked if the company is upbeat on the effect of monsoon on sales figure, he said, “It is hard to say. So far, we do not see any tangible signs of change, although we see lot of hope. Next two months will be good for obvious reasons.
But, I am concerned about how the demand would shape up from December.”
On the launch of its next generation vehicle ‘Quadricycle’, Mr. Bajaj said, “I would like to keep it very factual. What I have heard is that Minister Oscar Fernandes called the representatives of the industry and called for their comments.
Today is the last day for the 30 days draft notification, and it is expected that in a couple of weeks, the (Road Transport) Ministry would announce a decision.”
My own expectation is that there would be no roll back on the Quadricycle, but what exact notification and time-frame would be announced is what we have to wait and watch, he added.
When asked if the company would launch the Quadricycle in Europe if delayed in India, Mr. Bajaj said: “I do not want to speculate like that. It is just a matter of two to three weeks. Then we would know what the reality is, and accordingly we would make plans.”