ISLAMABAD: The reintroduction of the ban on import of cars that are five or more years old by a committee, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Pervaiz Elahi, yet again reflects the utter lack of planning at the national level on what is an issue close to the hearts of hundreds of thousands of consumers. Whether it eventually stays or not, the ban shows that the government seems to have, once again, given in to the local car manufacturers’ lobby.
The reason put forward by local car producers is that their industry is hit by cheaper imports. While that may be true, it is not necessarily a bad thing, certainly not for consumers who, in the absence of imports, have no choice to buy expensive locally-assembled cars. It is a fact, and there is much anecdotal evidence on this, that the quality and reliability of locally-assembled cars is much lower than that of imported cars. Instead of simply caving in to the demands of the local manufacturers’ lobby, why couldn’t the government at least have used this opportunity to impress upon local car manufacturers that they need to significantly improve the quality of their product?
The sad fact is that consumers have no voice in Pakistan.
Sabqat Mansoor
Published in The Express Tribune, December 8th, 2012.
