Cars sales in Pakistan continued to project an upward trajectory during the first 6 months of the fiscal year 2020-21 recovering from the disastrous FY2019-20 which saw depressing sales due to depreciating currency, added duties & taxes and COVID-19 lockdowns towards the end.
According to the data released by PAMA (Pakistan Automobile Manufacturers Association), sales of locally assembled vehicles have shown a significant improvement with an 18% increase to 78,910 units during the first 6 months of the current fiscal year as consumer demand restored to normal aided by low interest rates. It is pertinent to mention that automakers including Kia, FAW, Changan, United and Regal are not yet members of local manufacturers association hence their sales stats aren’t reflected in the data released by PAMA.
Talking about the 1300cc & above segment, 34,228 units were sold during H1-FY2020-21 compared to 19,794 units in the corresponding period of FY2019-20 witnessing a staggering 73% improvement in sales. The biggest difference here was the addition of Toyota Yaris which alone saw sales of 12,845 units in addition to 8,427 units of Corolla whereas a year earlier only 11,742 units of Toyota Corolla were sold with no Yaris present in the segment.
Sales of 1000cc hatchbacks observed a 16.5% improvement with 12,995 units sold in H1-FY2020-21 compared to 11,155 units during the same period of FY19-20. However sales of 1000cc & below cars took a dip with 16,221 units sold in the first 6 months of this fiscal year compared to 23,658 units sold in 1H-FY2019-20 registering a 31% decline. This was primarily due to lesser sales of Suzuki Alto which was a new craze last year and the momentum now seems to have subdued.
The SUV segment saw a mind boggling improvement with 4,162 units sold in the first 6 months of current fiscal year compared to 1,779 units sold in the corresponding period of previous year. This is a whopping 134% improvement in sales thanks to an outstanding sales performance of Fortuner which was able to find 1,247 buyers as opposed to 552 it did during the previous year. Also worth mentioning is 1,207 units of Hyundai Tucson which wasn’t available during the previous fiscal year.
The pickup segment also witnessed 32% improvement with 8,766 units sold in 1H-FY20-21 compared to 6,621 units in 1H-FY19-20. The segment was spearheaded by Toyota Hilux which registered sales of 3,620 units compared to 1,881 units sold during the first 6 months of previous year, witnessing a 92% improvement in sales.
There was a slight 3% reduction in sales for Suzuki Ravi however the biggest disappointment was the Isuzu D-Max which in a time when almost every other product is observing recovery, saw a deplorable 46% decline in sales. Only 141 units of Isuzu D-Max were sold during the discussed 6 months period averaging 23 odd units a month while achieving its record-lowest sales of just 3 units in November 2020.
Related: 2020: Top 3 Bestselling Cars in Pakistan
As for individual performances Suzuki Alto with sales of 16,221 units remains the bestselling car of Pakistan as of the first 6 months of this fiscal year followed by Toyota Yaris with 12,845 units under its belt. In terms of individual sales, Toyota Corolla with 8,427 units was at the third place whereas Honda Civic & City (combined) sold 11,958 units divided between the two. Not to mention, Honda in Pakistan has been shy enough to disclose individual sales of its cars (Civic & City) since 2014 & present them as a combined figure to make them appear a little acceptable.
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
