Hero MotoCorp to raise prices of motorcycles, scooters by up to Rs 2,000 from January 4

Automobile major Hero MotoCorp on December 23 announced it will increase prices of its tw0-wheeler vehicles with effect from January 4, 2022.

The ex-showroom prices will be raised by up to Rs 2,000, the company informed the stock exchanges, adding that the revision has been necessitated due to growing commodity costs.

The exact quantum of increase will depend on the model and the market, it added.

"Hero MotoCorp will make an upward revision in the ex-showroom prices of its motorcycles and scooters, with effect from January 4, 2022," it said in a press release. "The price revision has been necessitated to partially offset the impact of steadily increasing commodity prices."

This would mark the third hike in Hero MotoCorp's two-wheeler prices within a span of six months. The company had raised the ex-showroom prices of motorcycles and scooters by up to Rs 3,000 on July 1, followed by another upward revision of up to Rs 3,000 on September 20.

In both the previous instances of price hikes, Hero MotoCorp had cited the increase in commodity prices.

Apart from Hero MotoCorp, other vehicle makers including Mahindra & Mahindra, Renault, Tata Motors, Honda Cars and Toyota had also raised prices in the July-August period. The upward revisions were aimed at negating the increase in costs of steel, metals and other raw materials.

Notably, at the start of 2021, several manufacturers had raised the prices to offset the impact of lacklustre sales due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commodity prices, which is considered to have driven the subsequent price hikes, were expected to remain at multi-year highs in the first half of FY22, before softening in the second half of the fiscal, according to a report by ratings agency ICRA.