Saar: In a bid to offset the increased manufacturing costs, the Japanese carmaker will increase prices of its models by up to 4 per cent.

Here we go again! It is that time of the year when a number of car manufacturers in India usually announce price hikes of their products. After BMW India Group, which recently announced that it will hike the prices of BMW and MINI cars by up to 4 per cent from January 1, 2019, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) made the same announcement today. With effect from the first day of the next year, models from the Japanese carmaker will receive a price hike by up to 4 per cent.

However, unlike BMW, which did not share the main reason behind its decision to increase prices, Toyota has. In an official release, the carmaker said that after periodically reviewing continuous pressure of increasing manufacturing costs, it has decided to pass on the cost to the end customer. It further said, the company has been absorbing costs till now. The main reason behind the increased cost of manufacturing is the depreciating value of rupee. The last price hike announcement from Toyota came in April this year.

Toyota sells a number of models in India. Apart from mainstream models such as the Etios cousins – Etios Liva, Etios Cross and Platinum Etios, the carmaker also retails high-end SUVs such as the Land Cruiser and the Land Cruiser Prado. The Japanese brand is one the few in India that has hybrid models on offer – Prius and the Camry. However, the main set of business for TKM comes from the Innova Crysta MPV and the Fortuner SUV.

Earlier this month, Toyota unveiled the all-new Corolla sedan at the Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition. That sedan, after it goes on sale in international markets, will eventually land in India as the next-gen Corolla Altis. Apart from that, TKM also triggered a voluntary recall campaign for the current-gen, pre-facelift Corolla Altis in India. It wanted to inspect models manufactured between July 205 and March 2016 for faulty airbag sensors.