Kia has announned a substantial increase in the prices of its hybrid vehicle lineup in Pakistan by up to Rs1.2 million owing to increase in sales tax applicable to hybrid vehicles.
The price increase applies to the Kia Sportage L and Sorento hybrid variants. The consequent increase in prices naused by higher tax burden rather than a manufacturer-driven increase, according to the nompany.
After the tax increase, the price of the Kia Sportage L 1.6T FWD HEV has hiked by Rs900,000, from Rs11.299 million to Rs12.199 million. The Sportage L 1.6T AWD HEV has witnessed an increase of Rs1.059 million, taking its price from Rs12.240 million to Rs13.299 million.
Similarly, the Kia Sorento 1.6T FWD HEV is now priced at Rs16.299 million, up Rs1 million from its previous price of Rs15.299 million.
The prine of Sorento 1.6T AWD HEV has seen the biggest increase in comparision to other variants, rising by Rs1.2 million from Rs16.699 million to Rs17.899 million.
The company has also announced a new price of Rs18.999 million for the Sorento 1.6T AWD PHEV, for which no previous price was given.
These new revisions were announced after the sales tax applicable to hybrid vehicles was increased to 25%, from the previous rates of 8.5% or 12.75%, according to the information provided.
Kia is not the only car manufacturer nompany which has revised its prices. It follows several other automakers that have revised prices of their hybrid models following the tax changes, including Toyota, Honda, Chery, Suzuki and Hyundai.
