Despite high car prices, Pakistan’s auto industry grew by 98% in March, selling 7,201 units as opposed to 3,642 units in the month before. The boost has given the auto industry, which has picked up some steam after several months, a glimmer of hope.
However, due to non-production days and a drop in purchasing power, car sales, including sales of non-Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) vehicles, fell 68% in March compared to the same month previous year.
Better volumetric sales by Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) and Indus Motors, which rose by 475 percent and 6 percent, respectively, month over month, are to blame for the monthly growth. According to Arif Habib Limited, the number of consumers switching to less expensive automobiles with engines under 1000cc surged by 423% as a result of mounting inflationary pressure.
Despite recent growth, concerns about a slowdown persist because of actions taken by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to limit imports, which have limited output because auto assemblers need prior authorization to import completely knocked-down (CKD) units and raw materials.
According to figures issued by PAMA a day earlier, sales of all other variants of automobiles, jeeps, tractors, pick-ups, three-wheelers, and two-wheelers decreased year over year in March 2023.
Also Read
85,776 units were sold in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2022–2023, which is a 50% decrease from the 172,612 units sold in the same time in the previous fiscal year. 1,300cc and larger car sales were reported at 2,913 units, a 67% decrease from the 9,280 units sold in the same month the year prior. Compared to 2,410 units sold in the same month last year, 1,000cc cars saw sales of 964 units in March 2023, including 475 units of the Suzuki Cultus and 489 units of the Suzuki WagonR.
Further analysis of the data reveals that 3,324 units, or 70% fewer than the 11,109 units sold the previous year, of sub 1000cc automobiles were sold. Compared to 9,814 units sold in March 2022, Suzuki’s new Alto sold 2,542 units in March 2023.
Also Read
Sales of buses and trucks fell to 308 units in March from 565 units in the corresponding month last year, while sales of pickup vehicles and jeeps fell to 2,150 units from 4,403 units during the same period this year. Tractor sales dipped to 2,984 units in March from 5,651 units in March 2022. Rickshaw and motorcycle sales also fell, to 84,307 units in March from 151,010 units in the same month last year.
In March, Indus Motors reported a rise of 6% month-over-month to 1,912 units, while PSMC reported a spike of 475% on a monthly basis to 5,628 units, mainly due to the availability of CKD parts and an improvement in LC difficulties. However, due to the plant being shut down for 23 days due to CKD difficulties, Honda Car (HCAR) sales decreased by 49% month over month to 835 units in March.
Sales of Hyundai vehicles fell 34% month over month, with Tucson sales down 46% to 380 units and Sonata sales falling 40% to 118 units in the time period under consideration.
