According to the data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), sales of passenger and light commercial vehicles dipped 24% to 19,437 units in April 2019 compared to 25,567 units in the same month of previous year.
On a month-on-month basis, this is a decrease of 15% as sales of 22,878 units were recorded during March 2019. Cumulatively, in first 10 months of the current fiscal year, the sales have shrunk 6% to 204,883 units compared to 218,301 units in the corresponding period of previous year.
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Sales of Pak Suzuki fell down 27% from 14,781 units in April 2018 to 10,789 units in April 2019. Indus Motors witnessed a relatively lower decline of 7% as its sales reduced from 6,183 units to 5,738. On the other hand, Honda Atlas endured the biggest hit of 38% in sales which plummeted from 4,603 units in April 2018 to just 2,836 units in April 2019.
Overall, the ongoing rupee devaluation has played a key role in the decline in car sales. Automakers have increased prices by 15-20% to pass the impact of rupee devaluation on to customers. Furthermore a 10% federal excise duty imposed on cars of 1800cc & above engine capacity impacted the car sales affecting Honda Atlas the most.
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Just to give an idea, cars which were earlier priced at Rs 2 million, are now available in the market for nearly Rs 2.4 million. This massive increase in prices has damaged the purchasing power of customers. Although the government withdrew the ban on non-filers of tax returns, it hiked advance tax on the non-filers, which contributed substantially to the lack of sales.
As for stats, Toyota Corolla led the charts with 5,256 units sold in April 2019. Honda Civic and City combined sold 2,310 units. In hatchbacks, the segment dominated by Pak Suzuki, the ousted Mehran remained the bestseller with 2,738 units, followed by Wagon R with 2,641 units and Cultus with 2,191 units sold. Suzuki Swift with 453 units remains seated at the bottom of the charts.
The 40-year old Suzuki Ravi and Bolan sold 1,279 units and 1,487 units respectively. Other vehicles include Honda BR-V (526 units), Toyota Fortuner (195 units), Toyota Hilux (287 units) and Isuzu D-Max (41 units).
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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