M&M raises XUV500 prices by up to Rs 55,000

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra onWednesday said it will hike prices of its sports utility vehicle XUV500 by upto Rs 55,000 with effect from January 1 on account of the falling rupee andrising input costs.

The company will restart bookings of the SUV, which wasstopped in October, from next month.

"This price rise has been necessitated as the launchprice was an introductory invitation price and there has also been aconsiderable impact of increase in raw material costs and the rupeedepreciation with respect to dollar and euro," M&M said in astatement.

The prices of the three variants of the vehicle will behiked by Rs 30,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 55,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi) respectively.

The company had launched XUV500 on September 29, with priceranging from Rs 10.8 lakh to Rs 11.95 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The bookings began on October 1.

M&M said, however, that for customers who have alreadyplaced orders for the SUV and whose delivery have not been made yet, the pricewill go up by just 50 per cent of the proposed hike.

The bookings of the SUV was stopped since October 11, afterit received over 8,000 orders in just 10 days.

"The production for the XUV500 is as per schedule andthe company is also in the process of further ramping up production at itsplant in Chakan, which will enable it to re-open bookings in January2012," the statement said without sharing details.

Earlier this month, M&M had said it will raise theprices of its entire range of vehicles by up to 3 per cent from January 1 dueto rising input costs.