Indus Motor Company, the makers of Toyota cars in Pakistan, has increased its vehicle prices for the third time this year, ranging from Rs50,000 to Rs250,000.The company has increased prices of Corolla XLI and XLI AT by Rs50,000. XLI will now be sold at Rs1.94 million while XLI AT has crossed the Rs2-million mark and will be sold for Rs2.02 million.Prices of Corolla GLI variants have been increased by Rs100,000. The price of Corolla Altis 1.6 has been increased by Rs100,000 while prices of Altis 1.8 MT and CVT have been increased by Rs150,000.Prices of Grande MT SR and Grande CVT SR have been increased by Rs150,000 and Rs135,000, respectively.Fortuner High crossed the Rs6-million mark after its price was jacked up by Rs250,000 and it will now be sold for Rs6.1 million.Fortuner Diesel will be sold at a price higher by Rs250,000. Prices of IMV variants have been increased in the range of Rs110,000 to Rs200,000.“Prices of Toyota cars have been increased for the third time in the year following a third round of rupee depreciation,” Taurus Securities research analyst Hamdan Altaf told The Express Tribune.Pak Suzuki Motor Company has also increased its car prices thrice while Honda Atlas has raised prices twice so far this year.According to Altaf, auto companies import completely knocked down (CKD) kits to manufacture and assemble vehicles in Pakistan and when the rupee depreciates against the US dollar, Japanese yen and Thai baht also go up against the rupee, consequently the import bill swells for the carmakers.However, the increase in vehicle prices would not have much impact on sales, he added.Another research analyst Farheen Irfan of Elixir Securities said the auto companies were only passing on the impact of rupee depreciation to the customers because a stiff competition was emerging in the auto industry.More than half a dozen foreign car manufacturers are entering Pakistan’s auto industry in the aftermath of the Auto Development Policy 2016-21. Two local two-wheel and three-wheel manufacturers are also gearing up to enter the four-wheel business.Published in The Express Tribune, June 27, 2018.Like Business on Facebook , follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.