IMC CEO believes auto sector can bring economic turnaround

Insists it is in the interest of carmakers to have maximum local parts

LAHORE: Indus Motor Company (IMC) Chief Executive Officer Ali Asghar Jamali has emphasised that it is in the interest of car manufacturers if maximum parts are produced locally and for the last 30 years, the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are establishing and widening the vendor and engineering base in Pakistan.

He was of the view that the full potential of job creation could only be achieved if the engineering companies, which supplied parts to the OEMs, were encouraged and supported because they had proved themselves the real engine of growth in the auto sector.

“In developed countries with a robust vendor base, one job created at the OEMs results in a multiplier effect of 10 more jobs across the value chain,” Jamali told a group of journalists.

Quoting the example of European Union, the IMC CEO pointed out that around 13.3 million Europeans, or 6.1% of the EU’s employed population, worked in the automotive sector. The turnover generated by the sector represented 6.8% of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP).



He mentioned that in Germany alone, every seventh job was “directly or indirectly” linked to the automotive sector and contributed close to 14% of GDP. “Pakistan too possesses a massive potential in this area; once tapped, the auto sector will become the launch pad for an economic turnaround,” he stressed.



In a favourable environment, the auto industry could provide a hi-tech engineering base for all the engineering sectors, he added.

“On one hand, the industry contributes heavily to the job growth and local industry development whereas on the other, it saves carmakers from the longer lead times.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2019.

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