Car sales dive 44% during July-February FY20

Decline comes due to soaring auto prices, slowdown in Pakistan’s economy

KARACHI: Pessimism in Pakistan’s automobile segment continued as car sales recorded a 44% decline during the first eight months of the current fiscal year on back of soaring prices and an overall slowdown in the country’s economy.

According to data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (Pama) on Wednesday, sales of automobiles clocked in at 90,834 units during July-February FY20 compared to 162,240 units in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

“The decline in car sales was seen mainly due to higher car prices, interest rates and an overall economic slowdown,” said Topline Securities’ analyst Hammad Akram.

The ecosystem remained gloomy for all three major market players as they posted significant declines in sales during the period under review.

Honda Atlas Cars remained the major laggard with a 61% drop in sales to 12,497 units in the eight-month period compared to 32,077 units in the same period of previous fiscal year.

Indus Motor Company fared no better and recorded a drop of 49% in sales to 22,707 units during July-February 2019-20.

Sales of Pak Suzuki Motor Company were down 35% to 55,630 units during the period under review.

Monthly figures

Meanwhile, car sales inched up 2% in February on a month-on-month basis.

“The rise was led by 12% month-on-month rise in sales of Indus Motor Company,” the analyst said. “On the other hand, Pak Suzuki Motor and Honda Atlas both witnessed a decline in sales by 3% month-on-month each.”

According to the research house, the increase in Indus Motor’s sales was seen due to promotional offers especially on the 1.3 corolla variants which are expected to be replaced by Yaris.

On a year-on-year basis, the declining trend in industry’s unit sales continued with volumes falling by 39%.

Pak Suzuki recorded the highest decline in volumes as sales of the company fell 50% year-on-year to 5,377 units.

It was followed by Honda Atlas with a 35% drop in sales to 2,141 units from 3,281 units sold in February 2019.

Indus Motor reported an 18% decrease in sales to 4,510 during the month. According to the research house, major impetus was likely to be seen in the sector from the start of next fiscal year or with the launch of a new model of car. 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2020.

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