Falling Ringgit: Slight Increase In Prices Of Toyota And Lexus Models In 2016

As expected, more and more car companies are making adjustments to the prices of their models as a direct result of the falling Ringgit, which has since lost almost 20 percent of its value year-to-date. UMW Toyota has just announced today it will be increasing the prices of its cars by 4 to 16 percent across the range, effective January 2016.

Datuk Ismet Suki, President of UMW Toyota Motor stressed that the increase is still not sufficient to cover the losses due to forex.

“We have tried our level best to keep the price increase as minimal as possible although 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 said.

He also explained that the unpopular move is inevitable as the company has been absorbing the additional cost over the past months

“Year-to-date, the Ringgit has depreciated by almost 20% to the US dollar, thus increasing cost of operations for UMW Toyota. The company has weighed all possible options, but has no choice but to pass on some cost to the consumers to offset rising input costs due to the strengthening of the US dollar against the Malaysian currency,” UMW Toyota said in a statement to the press released today.

Datuk Ismet Suki, President of UMW Toyota Motor said “Since the beginning of this year, the fluctuation of the Ringgit has impacted our business as some of our parts and components are imported, resulting in an increase in overall cost of production. We have implemented cost-efficiency measures and reviewed our operations across the supply chain to mitigate the weaker Ringgit.”

“The company would have implemented necessary measures to minimise forex losses impact and address the fluctuation of Ringgit if it dropped gradually. Unfortunately, the sudden and huge fluctuation of Ringgit within a short period, has given great impact to our operations. Hence, 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,” he explains.

The company has yet to announce the new prices for Toyota and Lexus models for 2016 but said they will be made available in due course. The new prices will take effect from January 2016 onwards.

The move comes after Hyundai Malaysia quietly raised the prices of three of its models. BMW Group Malaysia has also warned that price hikes in 2016 is likely if the Ringgit doesn't recover.

Related links:

Falling Ringgit: Three More Brands Expected To Raise Prices Soon

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