I was more surprised on it’s “road presence”. It was nothing like a standard kei car or a microtruck in terms of dimensions, width, size and even height. If I were to compare it to something, I’d say it’s very similar in length and width to an 11th gen Toyota Corolla. I saw it next to a Mitsubishi Truck as well, and surprisingly it did not look out of place at all thanks to it’s size. The rear bed was also quite spacious and large as well.

I think this would be an absolutely great car as a replacement for the ancient Ravi, but engine tax wise it could be an issue. Let’s hope PakSuzuki launches this as an assembled product and not do something stupid like launching it as a CBU only in limited numbers and sell it for some ridiculous amount of money…

the seats had no springs in them, they were simple “phatta” with cushion on it,

Pakistanis with low standard education system don’t deserve springs in seats 😛

Exactly. And these kinds of cost cutting soon become standard across the range because the companies know they will get no accountability and will not be held responsible in any way. They have the government agencies pretty much in their pocket just the way they like them. The country suffers from their profiteering and corners cutting. They are sitting pretty with their obscene profit margins.😤

Here I postulate another theory: vehicles participating in government incentive schemes should have a stricter criteria to meet. It is a bulk purchase, they benefit from the economies of scale, they should thank the government for choosing their product by providing more features, more safety and an overall upgraded special trim level.

The example you gave above tells about the condescending style in which these auto-assemblers view our country. They are in direct contempt of the government by this act.

This is what Turkey’s government did to Toyota, Honda and Hyundai when they tried to play with the policies: https://carspiritpk.com/turkey-6-automakers-excluded-loan/

In fact we have to count what has been taken out and where quality has been down graded.

someone from a competitor company told me that when “Rozgar scheme” cars (Ravi) were delivered, Suzuki used many cost cutting measures to save money. For example they skipped pasting emblems on these cars. Assuming Rs 40 cost per emblem, then multiply it by 5,000 units they saved 200,000 just by skipping 1 emblem. Then the seats had no springs in them, they were simple “phatta” with cushion on it, and the list goes on!

Pak Suzuki had been selling the carry since 40 years. Nothing has been added. In fact we have to count what has been taken out and where quality has been down graded. This is not value for money this is creating and maintaining stagnation in the market. Just because the market has been flooded with it’s very badly made and cheap parts over the decades, people have been convinced there is no better option. It is also because our original japani three have promoted and maintained a very closed auto sector with total dominance, with the political pull to back it up. Power which is still shaping Pakistan auto policies.

This is where the government comes in. Not only has it demonstrated it’s total lack of interest or knowledge about the industry over the years, it has, through it’s very flawed and self harming tax skews, ensured that new innovation or new introductions by any auto company is a difficult and costly process. This new carry should have been introduced in Pakistan ages ago. Each generation should have been introduced here as they changed because we are importers not manufacturers. The assembly line in this case, because of the high taxes, have become a hindrance in Pakistan’s introduction to the new and current technology.

We have the latest Civic here. Unfortunately, when compared with other nations like the Philippines who are pure importers of new cars, we, with local assembly, are almost 7 lac PKR more in price (civic RS has more options in Philippines and is 7 lac PKR cheaper!), so what good is local assembly if it is giving costlier under equipped products and is a serious addition to our import cost bill.

Companies have no set of controls and the government is too uninterested or just incompetent to control them. And we are left with over priced new vehicles with cut features or with 40 year old work vehicles which people still don’t know better to recognise for what they are. Over priced relics that are being sold to us because of the government’s myriad of issues and companies who are completely left to their own devices.

Now we are hearing that because of the new addition to the policy, Suzuki will have no choice to change. How long will that take to implement or what they will actually introduce in the market option wise, only time will tell.