Tata Harrier gets its first big price hike after launch

The Tata Harrier SUV made quite the splash during its launch in January 2019 thanks to its killer price tag. The SUV’s prices started at Rs. 12.69 lakhs, making it cheaper than both the Mahindra XUV500 and the Jeep Compass, and also cheaper than the higher variants of the Hyundai Creta. Ever since, the Harrier has raced up to the top of the charts in terms of sales, beating both the XUV500 and Compass. Happy with the demand that the Harrier has been receiving, Tata Motors has considered it the right time for a a price hike. The Harrier’s prices have been hiked across the range by up to Rs. 35,000. The entry level XE trim is pricier by Rs. 30,000, the XM by Rs. 31,000, the XT by Rs. 30,000 and the top-end XZ by Rs. 35,000. The new ex-showroom Delhi price of the Tata Harrier starts from Rs. 12.99 lakhs (XE). The XM, XT and XZ trims are priced at 14.06 lakhs, 15.25 lakhs and 16.56 lakhs respectively.

Despite the price hike, the Tata Harrier continues to retain its value proposition for the buyer. Price hikes such as the recent ones on the Harrier are now becoming characteristic of Tata Motors. The automaker initially launches vehicles at very attractive prices, and in the course of the next year or so, increases prices constantly. In case of the Tata Harrier, this price hike has been pretty swift, coming within 6 months of launch. In the past, the same strategy has been used by Tata Motors for cars such as the Tiago and the Nexon, both of which came in at cracking price tags. The Tiago is over a lakh costlier now, and the story is similar with the Nexon. Despite the price hikes, these cars continue to offer great value, and this is something that Tata Motors has managed to do quite effectively, unlike most other automakers.

Coming back to the Tata Harrier, the SUV is offered with a single engine-gearbox combination. The engine is a 2 liter-4 cylinder Fiat Multijet turbocharged unit with 140 Bhp-350 Nm on tap. Tata Motors is readying up a more powerful version of this engine, which will make 170 Bhp-350 Nm, and is likely to be introduced by the end of this year. The uprated engine will also meet Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) emission norms, and the lower tune is also expected to meet the new norms. When the higher state of tune is introduced with the Harrier, expect another price hike as the additional equipment required for emission compliance is likely to make the SUV pricier by about Rs. 30,000-50,000. By the year-end, Tata Motors will also introduce a 6 speed torque converter automatic gearbox with the 2 liter diesel engine on the Harrier. The automatic variants of the Harrier are likely to be quite popular.