Pak Suzuki raises bike prices by up to Rs8,000

Chinese bike-makers follow suit, increase prices by Rs1,000 to Rs3,000

KARACHI: Japanese auto manufacturer, Pak Suzuki Motor Company, has finally decided to join competitors in increasing prices of its bikes.

Suzuki has increased bike prices up to Rs8,000 following the rise in its car prices, according to a company notice issued to the dealers across Pakistan.

The two-wheeler manufacturer’s GD-110S will now be available at a price of Rs155,000 following an increase of Rs5,000.



The company has enhanced the price of GS150 to Rs162,000, which was earlier available at Rs155,000. Moreover, the price of GS150SE has been raised from Rs175,000 to Rs180,000. The company also raised the price of GR150 from Rs235,000 to Rs243,000.

A massive depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar was the key reason behind the price hike. The rupee has lost 32% of its value in the past 13 months.

“Earlier, all the automakers had increased prices of motorcycles but Suzuki did not raise its bike prices, so it is doing it now,” said Mohammad Sabir Shaikh, Chairman of the Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers.

Following in the footsteps of Japanese bike manufacturers, some Chinese bike-makers have also increased prices of their two-wheelers. Unique, Super Power, Super Star and other Chinese bike assemblers have decided to increase prices by Rs1,000 to Rs3,000.

Despite the price hike, bike sales will remain robust due to a lack of transport infrastructure and also because bikes are mostly sold on instalments where the customer does not feel much difference when payments are spread over a long period of time.



Though Pakistan has achieved over 92% localisation of parts in motorcycles, the import of completely and semi-knocked-down kits (CKD/SKD) is soaring. Imports of CKD/SKD for two-wheelers rose to $106 million in FY18, up 15.5% from $92 million in FY17, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

Meanwhile, Atlas Honda raised the curtain on its new CB125F motorcycle in Lahore. The company was expected to set the price for the new bike model in the range of Rs140,000 to Rs145,000 but it introduced the basic variant at Rs159,900 and the special edition at Rs161,900.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2019.

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