The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) is holding a public hearing on the auto sector on 12th April in Islamabad, and has invited all stakeholders to share their views on the issue.
CCP Spokesperson and Director Advocacy and Media, Asfandyar Khattak while talking to Pakistan Today said:
“We have been hearing a lot of things regarding the auto industry and now we have decided to listen to everyone about their concerns.”
Asfandyar added that after hearing all stakeholders, CCP will draft its opinion and may also recommend enforcement measures to facilitate competition in the industry.
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The local manufacturing companies have generally been accused of cartelizing the sector and are also alleged of having made their separate different engine capacity markets, where one player doesn’t enter in the other’s market.
All-Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APDMA) Chairman HM Shahzad said:
“The existing (Suzuki, Honda, and Toyota) players have monopolized the market and they don’t compete with one another, making a different segment based on the capacity of the engine for themselves. One company plays in their own segment while not interfering in another segment. This is against the policy of competition and as a result, buyers are not getting good quality products.”
Shahzad said that APDMA Secretary Hasan Ganji will present APDMA concerns during the CCP hearing. He further said that APDMA would throw a spotlight at the black money earned by authorized dealers, referring to ‘on-money’.
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‘On-money’ is an illegal fee earned by investors, who deliver vehicles to the buyer promptly, while taking more than company stated price. A buyer has to wait for at least three months, called delivery time or period, to get a car from a company. Customers who want their vehicles delivered to them in time, have to pay a certain fee, or ‘on’, to have that punctuality guaranteed.
“We want open competition in the industry. We would also be asking the CCP to help pave a way to commercially import used vehicles,” Shahzad added.
In order to maintain foreign exchange reserves, which has fallen to an alarming level, the government has tried to curb imports and subsequently the import of used vehicles was also restricted a few months back. However, the government has taken back its decision.
Related: Used Cars Will Become Expensive Too
Foreign Exchange Reserves in Pakistan averaged at $15.827 billion from 1998 until 2017, but by the end of March this year, it slumped to $11.602bn.
Meanwhile, there are new players gearing up to enter Pakistan’s auto sector including Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Renault, and Volkswagen following Pakistan’s Automobile Development Policy 2016.
from Pakistan Today
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
