KUALA LUMPUR: Toyota and Lexus car prices will be increased by between 4 to 16 per cent as of January next year.
The increase in the car prices is due to depreciating ringgit, which has fallen 20% year-to-date against the US dollar, said UMW Toyota in a statement today.
According to UMW Toyota, the company had no choice but to transfer the cost to the consumers to offset rising costs.
"The company will have to increase the prices of Toyota and Lexus vehicles effective January 2016. The increase is inevitable as there is no clear indication on when the Ringgit will rebound,” said UMW Toyota Motor president Datuk Ismet Suki.
Ismet stated that the company had tried its best to keep the price increase to a minimum.
“Even with the increase of our vehicle price, we could only recover partially, not 100% from the impact we have been absorbing. If the ringgit continues to slide in the near future, we may need to review our pricing structure again,” he added.
If the ringgit continues to depreciate, more car manufacturers are expected to raise car prices, including Malaysian makes.
In September, Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua), the number one national carmaker in the country said it may increase the selling price of its car models if the ringgit continues to depreciate against the US dollar.
Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said the automotive firm is importing some automotive parts from overseas, of which these parts are charged by the greenback.
"A total of 90 per cent of Perodua components are built locally, however some of the other components are imported using the US dollars which is bleeding the company," said Aminar.