Business

Car sales rev up 20% to 19,237 units in Dec

Six-month figure also registers 27% growth

Our Correspondent January 11, 2018

Six-month figure also registers 27% growth. PHOTO: REUTERS

KARACHI: Sales of locally assembled automobiles, including jeeps and light commercial vehicles, jumped to 19,237 units in December 2017, up 20% compared with 16,042 units in the same month of the previous year, showed data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) on Wednesday.

Cumulatively, industry sales during the first six months (July to December) of fiscal year 2018 exhibited 27% growth to 124,138 units compared with 97,533 units in the same period of last year.

The change in import procedure in October 2017 has led to a decline in used car imports while rising demand from online ride-hailing services has also contributed to a strong demand in December 2017, according to a Topline Securities report issued on Wednesday. Pak Suzuki continues to be the major beneficiary as majority of used car imports fall under the smaller-engine segment.

The company exhibited robust growth where sales rocketed 29% year-on-year as price conscious models Mehran (up 22% year-on-year), WagonR (up 100% year-on-year), and Cultus (up 15%) all exhibited sales growth.

In the first half (Jul-Dec) of fiscal year 2017-18, sales were up 32% year-on-year for Pak Suzuki to 69,224 units.

Honda Atlas Cars sales stood at 3,213 units in December 2017, staying up 33% year-on-year or down 28% month-on-month due to strong order book.

In first half (Jul-Dec) of fiscal year 2017-18, sales grew 50% year on year to 24,780 units due to success of new models of Honda Civic and Honda BR-V recently revamped Honda City.

Indus Motor, the makers of Toyota Corolla in Pakistan, lagged behind peers with a decline of 3% year-on-year and 14% month-on-month as it continues to face capacity constraints, though in first half (Jul-Dec) of fiscal year 2017-18, sales are up 6% year-on-year, the report said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2018.

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