Hyundai increases car prices

Hyundai Nishat Motor (Private) Limited has increased the prices of its Sonata, Elantra and Tucson models.

The prices have been increased by a minimum of Rs100,000 and a maximum of Rs200,000.

According to the company notification, the new rates will be applicable on all bookings made from December 1 and onwards. The new prices of the cars will not be applicable on all the partial payments orders and for those customers who have deliveries due by December.

Following are the new prices of Hyundai Sonata, Elantra and Tucson models.

Hyundai Sonata

The eight-generation Sonata is a luxury and the most expensive sedan and falls in the same category as Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

Hyundai Sonata 2.0L has seen a price hike of Rs100,000 and will cost Rs6,499,000 against the old price of Rs6,399,000.

The price of Sonata 2.5L has increased by Rs200,000, and will be available at Rs7.29 million against the old price of Rs7.09 million.

Hyundai Tucson

Tucson’s main competitor is Kia Sportage. Interestingly, Hyundai is the parent company of Kia. Both are South Korean companies. The two companies’ international volumes are reported combined, which makes them enter the list of top ten car manufacturers.

Tucson GLS Sports will now be selling for Rs5.17 million after an increase of Rs200,000.

The price of Tucson Ultimate has increased by Rs200,000. Its new price is Rs5.66 million.

Hyundai Elantra

Hyundai Elantra 2.0L has witnessed an increase of Rs100,000 and will now cost Rs3.99 million.

Hyundai Nishat Motor is a joint venture of Nishat Group, Sojitz Corporation (Japan) and Millat Tractors Ltd. The company has an annual capacity of 15,000 vehicles, which the company says it can extend if they get impressive demand.

How will the price hike impact car sales?

According to a Hyundai car dealer, the price increase will not affect the car demand as Hyundai is a popular brand and one of the biggest players in the market.

“However, it can temporarily impact the demand in the next few days,” a car dealer said.

Lahore Car Dealers Federation President Shahzada Saleem Khan said the big players in the market are taking advantage of a ban on imported used cars and deliberately making cars expensive to earn profits.

“If the government lifts the ban on car imports and allows competitors to enter the market, the prices of the cars may go down and people will be able to afford cars in Pakistan,” Khan added.

Khan said that the cars have become expensive from Rs1.8 million to Rs2 million in the past three years.

Research analyst Adnan Sami Sheikh said that this price increase can impact the company’s sales as out of new players, KIA is more famous and customers can switch the brand.

“Own money on cars will not be affected as people who want early delivery will pay extra money no matter how much it increases,” said Sheikh.

Own money is a price an investor charges from a customer who wants to buy a vehicle immediately. It is higher than the actual price of the vehicle.

Sheikh says that the dollar rate was Rs157 in June and it has now reached Rs175.70 indicating a 10% increase in the rate. Whereas, companies have increased car prices by 5%.

“Companies’ profits for the latest quarter remain low. Apart from this, people do not tend to buy cars at the end of the year. However, companies can increase profits by raising car prices in January 2022 and their sales will increase from January 2022 to June 2022,” sheikh added.

Analysts say that the costs of raw materials such as steel, aluminum have risen in the international market and the dollar has touched an all-time high at Rs177.80, which is putting pressure on the imports bill. Moreover, sea freight charges have jacked up.