Cars get costlier amid uncertain delivery dates

Amid an uncertain vehicle delivery situation, Honda Atlas Cars Ltd (HACL) on Monday again raised prices of various models by Rs260,000-550,000 in less than two weeks. Some 12 days back, HACL had increased the rate by Rs300,000-550,000 due to the rupee devaluation, uncertain economic conditions and high inflation. Dealers of various assemblers offer a different schedule for the delivery of vehicles due to suspension in booking, plant shutdown and parts availability issues, while others entice customers through price-lock offers and instant delivery options with price increase warnings. Booking has been kept open in various models but without any delivery dates. For example, Honda BR-V is ready for immediate delivery while some City variants are available in February and some in April. However, no delivery dates are available for Honda Civic and HR-V models. Some back orders that were scheduled to be delivered in November 2022 were revised for delivery in June/July this year, forcing many customers to take a refund of amounts paid at the time of bookings.