Automakers finally seem to be succumbing to the mounting pressures of the challenges of logistics, raw materials, and supply chain issues, inducing a tsunami of price hikes that will sweep across the entire industry.
Kia Lucky Motors (KLM) has been the first to take the decision and has upped the prices of two of its most popular cars — the Picanto and the Sportage. The prices for Grand Carnival have been increased as well but not for Sorento.
The following new prices reportedly took effect on 8 November:
| Vehicles | Old Price (Rs.) | New Price (Rs.) | Increase (Rs.) |
| Picanto Manual | 1,781,000 | 2,050,000 | 269,000 |
| Picanto Automatic | 1,922,000 | 2,150,000 | 228,000 |
| Sportage Alpha | 4,294,000 | 4,650,000 | 356,000 |
| Sportage FWD | 4,782,000 | 5,150,000 | 368,000 |
| Sportage AWD | 5,270,000 | 5,650,000 | 380,000 |
| Carnival GLS | 8,699,000 | 9,199,000 | 500,000 |
| Carnival GLS+ | 9,499,000 | 9,999,000 | 500,000 |
There had been whispers of impending price hikes for several weeks, with automakers citing raw material shortfall and deteriorating value of the local currency as the culprits behind the increase in operational costs. These problems had also pushed automakers, including Kia, to suspend the bookings of some of their vehicles but the bookings of all the vehicles have now been resumed.
The current price hikes will impact the sales of individual vehicles but not the overall numbers as KLM has just launched a smaller Stonic SUV that is sure to gain rapid popularity in Pakistan. The added features, practicality, comfort, and value will allow the Stonic to have an advantage over the sedans and bolster the company’s overall sales.