Pak Suzuki hikes bike, Alto prices

Many people shifting to two-wheelers after increase in car prices

KARACHI: At a time when other market players are scaling down their production levels due to slim demand, Pak Suzuki Motor Company has increased prices of Alto 660cc, its alternative for Mehran, and high-end bikes.

The company jacked up the price of its bike variant GD110S by Rs3,000 to Rs166,000 from Rs163,000, according to a notification issued on Thursday. It also hiked the price of GS150 model from Rs170,000 to Rs175,000. Bike variant GS150 SE became costlier by Rs3,000 to Rs191,000 and GR150, which was available at Rs254,000, now costs Rs259,000.



However, the company kept prices of Gixxer model unchanged at Rs549,000 for MotoGP edition and Rs539,000 for Red and Black edition. Market sources stated that the company sold relatively cheaper vehicles, which was why it got the room to increase prices.

“As far as bikes are concerned, they are relatively high-end and many people, who are unable to afford cars following massive devaluation, are shifting to two-wheelers,” said Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers (APMA) Chairman Sabir Sheikh.

He pointed out that at a time when production by automakers was slowing down and buying power of customers was shrinking, the market needed innovative solutions. “Electrical vehicles are the best bet of the time,” he remarked. “Electric bikes are produced at half the price because they comprise lower number of parts.”



With the squeezing buying power of consumers, Honda Atlas Cars and Indus Motor Company are compelled to cut vehicle production. The two companies make relatively costlier vehicles compared to Pak Suzuki Motor Company. In FY19, the rupee depreciated 32% against the dollar while inflation surged 10.3% in July 2019 compared to 7.2% in January 2019.

Owing to the rupee depreciation, the cost of production of automobile companies has soared because of which they have already hiked car prices multiple times in the past around one year.

Late on Wednesday, Pak Suzuki jacked up the price of Alto VX from Rs999,000 to Rs1,135,000. It hiked the price of Alto VXR by Rs137,000 to Rs1,238,000.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2019.

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