After increasing prices of its passenger cars following hike in excise duty in the Union Budget 2012-13, Tata Motors, on Thursday, said its entire range of commercial vehicles have also become dearer by up to Rs.60,000.
“We have hiked the prices of our commercial vehicles by 2-5 per cent considering hikes in excise duty on vehicles and chassis. This has been done with effect from March 17 (2012),” Tata Motors President (Commercial Vehicle Business Unit) Ravi Pisharody told journalists at the Defence Expo here.
Stating that the hike would vary between Rs.5,000 and Rs.60,000 on various models, he said this would have some impact on sales in the near term.
“It usually takes 4-6 months to fully absorb the hike by the market,” Mr. Pisharody pointed out. The company is expecting a growth of 18-19 per cent in its commercial vehicle sales in the current fiscal.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors showcased a new micro bullet-proof vehicle (MBPV) at the expo, a highly mobile combat vehicle for indoor combat inside airports, railway stations and other such infrastructure, besides launching four other defence vehicles — the Tata 12x12 Prahaar Missile Carrier, the Tata Light Armoured Vehicle, the Tata Mobile Bunker and the Tata 6x6 Refueler. “The launch of our new combat and tactical vehicles and equipment, leveraged from our strength in design and development of a wide range of commercial vehicles, now enables us to cover the entire defence mobility spectrum,” said Tata Motors MD (India Operations) P. M. Telang.
