Monday, April 28 2025

Swimming against the current on EV adoption
Amidst the International Monetary Fund’s concerns about the government’s incentivising policy to promote environment-friendly automobiles, manufacturers seemingly compete to produce hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), diverging from the global trend towards pure electric vehicles. Auto stakeholders appear concerned over reservations shown by the IMF on tax relief proposed in the New Electric Vehicle Policy (NEVP) 2025-30 when Pakistan gears up for an EV revolution to come on a par with developing countries. The IMF reportedly asked the government not to incentivise the EV revolution by reducing taxes and tariffs. Sources said that the Fund believes that the EV sector should be given some subsidy separately instead of reducing taxes and duties on EVs to avoid any policy distortion.
Related news categories: auto-assembler business economic-indicators misc

Thursday, April 24 2025

Tractor makers want policy to check falling sales
Manu­facturers have urged the government to formulate a National Tractor Policy to tackle the challenges faced by the sector, primarily a significant decline in sales that has halved in the current fiscal year. During a meeting with the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan on Wednesday, tractor manufacturers raised serious concerns about the high rate of general sales tax (GST), excessive regulatory duties, high markup rates, and a lack policy framework that were key challenges. The local industry proposed that a dedicated tractor policy was essential for the agri sector and needed govt inter­vention. They said the industry faced frequent GST regime changes, erratic tractor loaning and subsidy schemes and removal of commodity support prices due to non-existent tractor policy in Pakistan.
Related news categories: auto-assembler business economic-indicators misc

Monday, April 21 2025

Govt urged to curb imports of used vehicles
Pakistan Suzuki Motors Ltd (PSML) has urged the government to limit the import of used cars to boost local production, as these imported second-hand vehicles make up a quarter of the automobile market. During a briefing for journalists on Saturday, PSML Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Hiroshi Kawa­mura discussed the government’s plan to enhance production of the Large-Scale Manufa­c­turing (LSM) sector, suggesting it would be better to incentivise exports rather imposing mandatory targets. “Approximately 25 per cent of the market is occupied by imported used cars. Curbing this could lead to a significant increase in local industry output,” Mr Kawamura added. Mr Kawamura emphasised the need for government policy support to drive industry growth. He urged the government to eliminate duty concessions for 1300cc, as 75pc of used car imports fall within this segment due to low fixed taxes, and recommended reducing the age limit of vans to three years from the current allowable limit of five years.
Related news categories: auto-assembler business economic-indicators misc

Thursday, April 17 2025

Auto financing rises amid strong sales
The downward trajectory in the interest rate continued to lure buyers towards auto financing, which increased to Rs257.3 billion at the end of March from Rs249bn in February. A 1,000bps cut in the interest rate to 12pc from an unprecedented 22pc in June 2024 and price stability are encouraging buyers towards new and used cars. Auto financing started improving in August 2024, when it was Rs227.3bn. In June 2022, it was at its peak of Rs368bn. Rising auto financing is also evident from the soaring sales of cars, pickups, vans and jeeps, which surged by 46pc in 9MFY25 to 100,868 units versus 69,081 in the same period last year. Mashood Ali Khan, an auto expert and parts manufacturer, predicted strong auto sales until June due to stable prices, a steady exchange rate, improved consumer confidence, and the launch of new models and variants.
Related news categories: auto-assembler business economic-indicators misc

Friday, April 11 2025

Auto sales swell by 46pc in 9MFY25
Overall auto sales —cars, LCVs, pickups and jeeps—clocked in at 11,098 units in March, reflecting an 18 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise but fell by 8pc month-on-month (MoM). The MoM decline was mainly due to a high base in February, when car sales typically surge at the start of the year, along with lower sales and delayed deliveries during Ramazan amid shorter working hours and subdued consumer activity. Myesha Sohail of Topline Securities said that the year-on-year growth is supported by a more stable macroeconomic environment, lower interest rates, easing inflation, and improving consumer sentiment. New models and variants also boosted demand, taking 9MFY25 sales to 100,868 units, showing a 46pc year-on-year rise from 69,081 units in 9MFY24.
Related news categories: auto-assembler business economic-indicators misc