Yet another vehicle in Pakistan that went past its prime is the Suzuki Cultus. Originally a 2nd-gen Maruti Celerio, it was introduced in April 2017 and rebadged as Cultus and came as a replacement for MK-II Cultus which was dragged for over 17 years (2000 to 2017) and in fact was a hatchback version of Suzuki Margalla which Pak Suzuki sold between 1991 and 1998.
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Suzuki made the wise decision to rename the Celerio as Cultus in order to capitalize on the popularity of the nameplate in our market. When launched, it was offered in two variants priced at PKR 12.50 lac for VXR and PKR 13.91 lac for the VXL variant. Later that year, the top-spec AGS variant was launched at PKR 15.28 lac. Initial sales of Cultus were impressive but overall its tenure in Pakistan has been like a roller coaster, having witnessed highs and extreme lows.
| Period | Sales | Monthly Average |
| April 2017 – June 2017 | 5,101 | 1,700 |
| July 2017 – June 2018 | 20,483 | 1,707 |
| July 2018 – June 2019 | 22,763 | 1,897 |
| July 2019 – June 2020 | 12,307 | 1,026 |
| July 2020 – June 2021 | 17,510 | 1,459 |
| July 2021 – June 2022 | 23,169 | 1,931 |
| July 2022 – June 2023 | 6,956 | 580 |
| July 2023 – March 2024 | 2,803 | 311 |
As evident from the table above, its sales have generally stayed around more than 1700 units a month. In the pandemic year sales were reduced to around 1,000 units but recovered in subsequent years. Lately, however, the monthly average has come down to a dismal 300 units a month. One of the main reasons is that the product hasn’t witnessed any upgrade throughout these years but the price has kept increasing exponentially despite higher localization claims made by the company.
Related: Suzuki Cultus (Celerio) Becomes a Decade Old
Cultus has witnessed a more than 200% increase compared to its launch price. Today the Cultus is priced at a whopping PKR 38.58 lac for the base VXR, PKR 42.44 lac for VXL, and PKR 45.46 lac for the AGS variant. Not to mention, by international standards, it’s already a decade-old & obsolete model as the new 3rd-gen Celerio debuted in 2021.
It remains to be seen how long Cultus (2nd-gen Celerio) will be dragged by Pak Suzuki, but given its poor sales, it’s not too hard to assume that the company isn’t making any profit from its existence on the market. Still, given the state of the economy, political upheaval, and economic uncertainty, it is difficult to predict that Pak Suzuki would launch a new generation of Celerio (Cutlus) in an attempt to boost the flagging sales figures.
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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