KARACHI: Lucky Motor Corporation Limited (LMCL) jacked up prices of various models of Kia by Rs228,000 to Rs500,000 from Monday.

The new prices of Sportage AWD, Sportage FWD and Alpha are Rs5.65 million, Rs5.15m and Rs4.65m, while those of Picanto AT and MT models are Rs2.15m and Rs2.05m, respectively.

The new prices of Carnival GLS and GLS Plus are Rs9.199m and Rs9.999m as compared to Rs9.699m and Rs9.499m previously.

Chief Executive Officer of LMCL Asif Rizvi told Dawn that the company had increased the price of Sportage for the first time since its launch in August 2019 when one dollar was equivalent to Rs158 in the interbank market as compared to current value of Rs170.

He said the price of Picanto (automatic) had been raised by Rs50,000 last year and the second price jump had been made on November 8.

“Freight and container charges have jumped four to five times compared to pre-Covid period while vulnerable exchange rate has also made imported parts costlier,” Mr Rizvi said.

The current price hike, he added, was only a reflection of the new freight and exchange rates while rising raw material prices in world markets, hike in minimum wages and utility charges had not been passed on to consumers.

Last week, the CEO of Indus Motor Company, Ali Asghar Jamali, in a media talk in Lahore had hinted at a price increase of five to six per cent in the next fortnight, citing rising international raw material prices, freight charges and weakening of rupee value.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2021