KARACHI: 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 Rs330,000 and a maximum of Rs450,000. The company has cited the government’s decision to hike taxes as the reason for the price increase. It has passed on the burden of increased taxes to customers.
The eighth-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 Rs360,000 and will cost Rs6.85m against the old price of Rs6.49 million. The price of Sonata 2.5L has increased by Rs450,000 and will be available at Rs7.74 million against the old price of Rs7.29 million.
Tucson GLS Sports will now be selling for Rs5.54 million after an increase of Rs370,000. The price of Tucson Ultimate has increased by Rs330,000. Its new price is Rs5.99 million. Hyundai Elantra 2.0L has witnessed an increase of Rs400,000 and will now cost Rs4.39 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.
Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers (APMA) Chairperson Muhammad Sabir Shaikh said that the price hike will not impact the company’s sales because customers prefer to buy Hyundai cars due to high demand.
Auto analyst Abdul Ghani Mianoor said that other big car manufacturers don’t produce SUV cars like Tuscon so customers are unlikely to switch the brand due to high prices but, having said that, the sales may decline due to late deliveries as people would prefer to buy cars from the companies which deliver cars on time.
He added that the costs of raw materials such as steel, aluminum are still high in the international market. Apart from that, there is immense pressure on shipping costs as Covid-19 cases are surging in exporting countries.
He said that freight charges dropped to $6000 in December but they have started increasing again due to closure of industries.
“Different countries are facing a shortage of workers as labour costs in Japan, China and other countries are high,” he added.
