Honda to hike City prices again by up to Rs 10,000

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After increasing the price of its flagship sedan City by up to Rs 10,500 following excise duty hike in Budget, Honda Siel Cars on Wednesday said it will further raise the price of the model by up to Rs 10,000 from April 1.

"Last week, we had passed on the impact of excise duty hike partially to our City customers as it was a big amount. However, as we do not have any other option, we are passing on the rest," Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Jnaneswar Sen told PTI.

Last week, the company hiked the prices of the City by Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,500 across different variants.

Following that announcement, the City was priced between Rs 7.1 lakh and Rs 10.33 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

"With the full implementation of the duty hike, the City prices will further go up by Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 depending on variants from April 1," Sen said.

In the Budget, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee raised excise duty to 12 per cent from 10 per cent at present.

Excise duties for petrol cars with engines under 1,200 cc and diesel cars with engine capacity under 1,500 cc, but the length exceeding four metres were increased to 24 per cent from the earlier 22 per cent with a fixed duty of Rs 15,000.

Petrol and diesel driven vehicles having length over four metres and engine capacity of more than 1,200 cc and 1,500 cc respectively will now be charged with an ad valorem duty of 27 per cent instead of the earlier 22 per cent with a fixed duty of Rs 15,000.

Besides the City, HSCI had increased prices of its vehicles by up to Rs 93,975 across all models following hike in excise duty in the Budget 2012-13.

The company said under the new prices effective from March 17, its entry level compact car Brio became dearer by Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000 depending on variants. It is now available at price ranging between Rs 3.99 lakh and Rs 5.2 lakh.

Likewise, premium compact car Jazz is costlier by Rs 14,972 to Rs 15,000 at Rs 5.75 lakh to Rs 6.31 lakh.

The Civic sedan also became dearer by Rs 36,600 to Rs 45,800. It is now available between Rs 12.59 lakh and Rs 14.88 lakh across variants.

HSCI's top-end sedan Accord now costs between Rs 20.29 lakh and Rs 27.37 lakh, more expensive by Rs 67,500 to Rs 93,975 depending on the variant.