Hero MotoCorp to hike motorcycle, scooter prices by up to Rs 3,000

Battling high input costs, two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp has decided to hike the prices of motorcycles and scooters from July 1, 2022, by up to ₹3,000. The exact quantum of increase will depend on the specific model and market.

"Hero MotoCorp will make an upward revision in the ex-showroom prices of its motorcycles and scooters, with effect from July 1, 2022. The price revision will be up to Rs 3,000. The exact quantum of increase will be subject to the specific model and market. The price revision has been necessitated to partially offset the steadily growing overall cost inflation, including commodity prices," says the company in a statement.

This is the second hike by the company in around two months. Before this, Hero MotoCorp announced a hike in the prices of its motorcycles and scooters by up to ₹2,000 from April 5.

The auto sector, which is one of the worst-hit industries due to Covid-19, is grappling with various issues like chip shortage, supply chain constraints and high commodity prices. Like Hero MotoCorp, other auto companies like Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and others, have also increased prices to offset high input costs.

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra on April 14 hiked prices by 2.5% on its range of vehicles. The current hike resulted in an increase of ₹10,000 to ₹63,000 on the ex-showroom prices across the range. Before this, India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India also increased prices across its entire range of models. This was the fifth hike by Maruti in a little over a year.

Tata Motors hiked the price of the commercial range by 2.5% in March after increasing the prices of its passenger vehicles by 0.9% in January 2022. Hyundai, too, had upped the prices of a range of models, including Venue, Creta and Alcazar, by up to ₹22,000. Hyundai hatchback models saw a hike of up to ₹17,400. Even luxury automotive brands have also joined the queue.

The world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters reported a 14.6% year-on-year decline in revenue at ₹7,422 crore during the quarter ending March 31, 2022. Its standalone profit also dipped 27.5% YoY to ₹627.05 crore over slow volume growth. The company sold 11.9 lakh units of motorcycles and scooters sold in Q4 FY’22, while the total volume sale in the full fiscal year (FY22) stood at 49.4 lakh. Amid today's development, the Hero Motocorp share closed 6.08% up to ₹2,678 as compared to the previous session close of ₹2,524.45 on the NSE.