Pak Suzuki launched the new Swift in Pakistan in February 2022 after a hiatus of over a decade of the presence of the globally retired 2nd gen model, which remained seated at the bottom of the domestic sales chart throughout its 12 years lifespan in the market.
With this, the largest auto assembler of Pakistan saw similar results which it experienced after replacing the MK-II Cultus with Celerio in 2017 and the 30-year-old 2nd gen Alto (Mehran) with the newer 8th gen Alto in 2019. The new Swift is enjoying handsome sales ever since it was introduced in our market.
In the calendar year 2022, the new Suzuki Swift saw 12,833 units sold, and considering the fact that it was launched on 24th February, the figure was actually achieved in just 10 months. This renders a monthly sales average of 1,283 units which is a staggering 750% more than the sales average of 151 units a month of the previous model. Not to mention the old Swift saw 1,820 units sold during the entire calendar year 2021.
So far during the first 6 months of this fiscal year, Pak Suzuki has managed to sell 7,136 units averaging 1,189 units a month. And considering the economic downturn and with sales of locally assembled cars in Pakistan cut in half, the sales numbers of Swift are extremely impressive, to say the least.
Related: Pak Suzuki Experiencing “Change is Good”
But as the sales of Swift have soared, so does its price. When launched in February 2022, the Swift was priced at Rs 24.99 lac for the base GL MT variant, Rs 26.99 lac for the GL CVT, and Rs 28.99 lac for the flagship GLX CVT variant. Now in February 2023, the Swift is available for Rs 38.07 lac for the base GL MT, Rs 40.92 lac for the GL CVT, and Rs 44.62 lac for the top-spec GLX CVT version.
The major blame is put on currency depreciation which stood at Rs 175+/- against a Dollar in February 2022, whereas its Rs 270 as of putting this article in February 2023. The 54% depreciation in currency has resulted in a 54% increase in prices, exactly in tandem with PKR to USD parity, thus nullifying whatever localization has been achieved by the company.
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Pak Suzuki is currently battling with supply chain issues and is observing non-production days since August 2022 blaming the inventory shortfall due to the import restrictions imposed by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) & non-approval of the letter of credit (LCs) that has created hurdles in importing knockdown kits & parts.
The company produced only 2,940 units in January 2023, the lowest in a month since the pandemic with just 505 units of Swift. However, it keeps on announcing price revisions despite not being able to produce & deliver vehicles. What impact will the constant price hikes have on the sales of Swift in Pakistan, will be evident in the forthcoming months.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
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