SIAM’s data also flags that automotive production alone accounts for 21 per cent of all aluminium consumption, making it acutely exposed.If you were on the fence about buying a car this month, these last few days of March may just be the right time, as come April 1, it won’t be the joke one maybe hoping for. At least half a dozen automakers have confirmed or are actively reviewing price increases effective next week. For some brands, this will be their second hike since the start of the financial year.
Last week, Tata Motors confirmed a 0.5 per cent increase on its ICE passenger vehicle range from April 1, calling it a partial offset to the “rising input costs.”
Earlier this month, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi also announced increases of up to 2 per cent. For Mercedes and BMW, this comes after they already raised their prices in January.
Media reports suggest that the country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, is still mulling a price hike, whereas Hyundai, which already raised prices by 0.6 per cent in January, is expected to follow suit.
Local, geopolitical factors weigh
The timing could not be worse. The price hikes are landing right in the middle of a perfect storm of cost pressures, some global and some very local.
According to the “SIAM Monthly Monitor – Commodity Prices” for February 2026, virgin aluminium averaged $3,065.40 per tonne in February, already 16 per cent higher than the same month last year.
The trigger was the effective disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that handles over 5 million metric tonnes of Gulf aluminium output annually.
SIAM’s data also flags that automotive production alone accounts for 21 per cent of all aluminium consumption, making it acutely exposed.
Steel tells a similar story. HR steel — the grade most used in car bodies — hit ₹54,225–₹56,200 per tonne in February 2026, a full 10 per cent above year-ago levels and 3 per cent above the prior month, per SIAM data. CR steel, used in more precision components, was up 9 per cent year-on-year at ₹58,650–₹60,625 per tonne.
Then there’s the rupee. The USD/INR rate hit an all-time low of ₹93.69 to the dollar on March 20, pressured by surging oil prices and the broader Middle East crisis. But the more punishing number for luxury carmakers is the euro rate: per SIAM’s February data, EUR/INR averaged ₹105.90, up from ₹90.57 a year ago, a depreciation of nearly 17 per cent in 12 months.
And while these geopolitical factors have been wreaking havoc, certain local policy measures will also weigh on the decision to hike prices. From April 1, Maharashtra will implement a 1 per cent increase in road tax on CNG and LPG vehicles. The higher the car’s ex-showroom price, the higher the tax outlay. It is a dual effect: a higher base price increases the absolute tax amount, and the higher tax rate adds further to the final on-road cost.
Taken together, rising input costs, a structurally weak rupee, elevated commodity prices, and a state-level tax revision leave manufacturers with limited room to absorb costs and buyers with this limited window to seal the best deal.
