Since more than 8 years, the sales numbers of Honda remained appalling especially when compared to Toyota and it just kept getting from bad to worse over the period of time. Since 2014 Honda Atlas has been shy to disclose individual sales of City and Civic and instead present them as a combined figure to help them appear decent.
However the arrival of Toyota Yaris made things even worst for Honda Atlas since the new sedan was alone able to thrash the combined number of Civic & City. But since Honda Atlas replaced the 5th gen City with another globally retired yet ‘new’ model for Pakistan– the 6th gen City in July 2021, it looked as if Honda will finally be able to win their lost market share back. Though the new City took an awfully long time to pick up sales, it now appears that Honda is slowly but steadily on the rise against Toyota in Pakistan.
If we take a look at the data released by PAMA (Pakistan Automobile Manufacturers Association), Honda has managed to sell 29,095 units of City and Civic combined during the first 10 months of the current fiscal year. This is 39% more than the 20,869 units of the duo it sold during the corresponding period of previous fiscal year. Compared to this Toyota sold 39,299 units of Yaris and Corolla (combined) during 10M-FY20-21 but sold 47,812 units of the duo in the same period of current fiscal year rendering a 21% improvement in sales. As strange as it might sound, Pakistan is probably the only market where sales of B-segment and C-segment cars are combined to be presented as one. Since February 2022, Indus Motor Company (IMC) has also stopped disclosing individual sales figures of Corolla and Yaris & instead present them as combined figure now.
Related: Combined Figures Trend Defies the Purpose of Sharing Sales Stats
This is due to the fact that the sales of Toyota Yaris, which enjoyed its position as the bestselling sedan of Pakistan for a little less than 2 years has lost its plot quite badly, particularly in presence of newcomers including 6th gen Honda City and Changan Alsvin, the latter already clocked past 10,000 units milestone hardly a year after its launch. Since October 2021, IMC’s old warhorse 11th gen Corolla is spearheading the sales with a major contribution compared to the newer and less expensive Yaris sedan.
Although sales of Toyota duo (Corolla & Yaris) are still much higher than that of Honda Civic & City combined, the latter witnessed a 39% surge in sales (during 10M-FY21-22) compared to 21% of that of Toyota, which sure is a good sign for Honda. The company introduced the latest 11th gen Civic sedan in March which received an overwhelming response despite a price tag going beyond PKR 6.0 million. The delivery timeframe of the new Honda Civic is as high as up to 11-months for the top-spec RS variant.
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Will Honda continue with this upward trajectory in sales will be an interesting thing to see considering the ongoing economic challenges and steeply rising car prices in Pakistan. Also whether IMC will introduce the Yaris facelift to revive the ailing sales of the B-segment sedan, not to mention the launch of next generation model is around the corner which is expected to hit Thai market during Q3, 2022. Furthermore, for how long IMC will continue with the 11th generation Corolla which despite being more than 8 years old is doing extremely well in terms of sales. Bear in mid Pakistan is the only key market where 11th gen Toyota Corolla is still being produced despite the fact that 12th gen model is already more than 3 years old in international markets.
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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