Cars and fuel to cost more from April 1

Bharat Stage-4 will bring reduced emissions

Car manufacturers are upgrading their vehicles to meet the Bharat Stage-4 emission norms that come into effect from April 1. This will push up the prices of all vehicles by a small margin which the manufacturers will pass on to customers. Additionally, oil companies too are upgrading their fuels to higher octane which will push up the prices. Normal fuels will now become 93-95 Octane meaning premium fuels like Speed and Power will cease to exist post April. However, Speed 97 will exist and that will remain the sole premium fuel and will cater to high end cars. A number of carmakers have actually told the media that they will hike the prices of all their models.

This will slow the industry down slightly as carmakers had already hiked the prices of their vehicles post the budget. Prices are said to increase around 10% which roughly equates to Rs 40,000 on a Rs 4 lakh car. This cost will get all the customers improved technology, increased fuel economy and reduced emissions. Overall, the ownership costs of owning a car will shoot up once the new norms come into effect. Anybody waiting to buy their next car could book now and save some sizeable amount.

“There will be another round of price hike by the industry in April. It is a matter of concern but necessary because of the upgrade due to new emission norms,” said Mahindra & Mahindra president for automotive sector Pawan Goenka, who is also the president of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Goenka also said the April hike will be roughly of the order of the hike now due to increase in excise duty increase. On March 8th, Tata Motors too announced a price hike on all of its models in April.

“There will be a price hike across the industry when the Euro-IV norms come in to effect,” Tata Motors Passenger Car Division President Rajiv Dube told reporters in Mumbai, adding, “We cannot say now by how much the price will be hiked, but a hike is definite as companies cannot absorb the extra cost in meeting the new norms,” he said.