The first quarter of the fiscal year 2021 is witnessing higher production of motorcycles as the economy recovers from the lockdown that had been imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.
“There is a boom in motorcycle industry of Pakistan,” said Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers (APMA) Chairman Muhammad Sabir Shaikh.
He added production of motorcycles will hopefully increase around 800,000 units after the current month ends.
Looking at the growing demand for the two-wheeler vehicle, Emerging Innovation - a bike manufacturing company - has set up a new production line for bikes called Revolt.
“We have set up the production plant with 99% deletion program; ie the company will use locally produced auto parts in the making of two-wheelers,” said the company’s country head Anwar Anees, adding, “The locally produced motorcycle will be 33% less costly with an increased fuel efficiency of 62-kilometre mileage.”
“Locally held research and development (R&D) for over two million markets with the aid of engineers from different local universities helped us achieve this efficiency,” said Anees.
Besides two-wheelers, demand for three-wheeler rickshaws and loaders has also increased due to which the company has applied for permission from the government to produce three-wheelers and hybrid electric bikes.
“It is commendable that new production lines are being set up,” said Provincial Minister for Industries and Trade Jam Ikramullah Dharijo. “New factories mean more jobs, which Pakistan is in dire need of at the moment.”
Bikes production in this venture may be the highest ever in the history of Pakistan, said Shaikh. “Sales of motorcycles are also breaking records.”
“However, motorcycles data reported by the media is not complete,” he highlighted.
He said that the data is mostly taken from Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), which has only five motorcycle producing members while around 40 companies are producing bikes in the country. Those companies are registered with the Engineering Development Board (EDB).
According to a report by EDB Electric Vehicle Policy 2020-25, two-wheelers and three-wheelers vehicles constitute a significant portion of Pakistan’s overall auto manufacturing.
A total of 2.8 million motor vehicles were produced locally during the fiscal year 2016-17, which increased to 3.22 million in 2017-18 with a little bit of decline recorded in 2018-19 to 2.86 million.
Out of 2.86 million vehicles manufactured in Pakistan, more than 2.4 million motorcycles were manufactured during the same period, said the report.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2020.
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