If you think that the automobile sector of India is scared of talking the Finance Minister's, challenge of imposing excise duty hike on the auto industry alone, then you must consider other aspects as well that can cause a bumpy journey for the Indian automobile players, which includes, the fuel price hikes and rising raw material costs and the sudden change in emission norms.

These bothersome elements have created an environment, which could lead to pull the socks strategy for the automobile biggies this year.

Small car models that have taken its liberty of 8 per cent excise duty will now have to incur 10 per cent and duty on large cars will be levied at 22 per cent plus Rs 15,000.

After the budget crossed the table of clearance, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai India are amongst the first to hike the price tags on their cars by Rs 3,000-Rs 13,000 and Rs 6,000-Rs 25,000 respectively, and the other players will follow soon.

However, one can make out the inclining prices of petrol and diesel. If the trend continues this way, the buyers may have to handle the higher cost of ownership, and also the inclined cost of maintenance as well.