Indian automaker, Mahindra & Mahindra has announced today that it will increase the price of its sports utility vehicle XUV500 by up to Rs 55,000 starting 1 January.

The company said that the hike in prices is to compensate for the fall in eth value of the rupee and increasing input prices in the country. The company had stopped the booking for the SUV in October and will reopen bookings from next month.

"This price rise has been necessitated as the launch price was an introductory invitation price and there has also been a considerable impact of increase in raw material costs and the rupee depreciation with respect to dollar and euro," M&M said in a statement.

The company will increase the price of three variants by Rs 30,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 55,000, respectively. The XUV500 was launched on September 29 with a price tag of Rs 10.8 lakh to Rs 11.95 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).

The company also clarified that for customers who have already made the bookings but have not received their vehicles, the price will only be increased by half of the proposed hike.

M&M had announced earlier that it will increase the price of its entire range of vehicles by up to 3 per cent from 1 January.