German luxury car maker Audi today said it will increase prices of its vehicles by up to Rs 9 lakh from April 1 to pass on the impact of increased customs duty in the Budget. The price across the entire model range will be increased by up to 4 per cent owing to the hike in the customs duty announced in the Union Budget, Audi India said in a statement. The price increase will range from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 9 lakh and will be effective from 1st April, 2018, it added.
Audi sells a host of vehicles in India ranging from SUV Q3 with price starting at Rs 35.35 lakh to sports car R8 which is tagged at Rs 2.63 crore. Audi India Head Rahil Ansari said, “The increase in custom duty and introduction of social welfare surcharge in lieu of an education cess (which is higher than the erstwhile cess) in the Union Budget made the increase in price inevitable.”
The company has tried to absorb the impact of the increase in customs duty and has minimised the price hike, he added. Seeking support from the government for luxury car industry, Ansari said,”There is no doubt that increase in car sales would definitely help the government in garnering more accumulated taxes.”
In the Budget for 2018-19, finance minister Arun Jaitley had increased custom duty on CKD (completely knocked down) imports of motor vehicles, motor cars, motor cycles from 10 per cent to 15 per cent. The government had also raised custom duty on specified parts/accessories of motor vehicles, motor cars, motor cycles from 7.5 per cent to 15 per cent.