Auto sales accelerate 18% in Jan 2022

Improved purchasing power, end of mobility restrictions drive increase

KARACHI:

The automobile sector of Pakistan picked up pace in January 2022 as car sales rose 18% to 20,610 units.

According to data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) on Friday, the car sales stood at 17,515 units in January 2021.

A report of Arif Habib Limited stated that the year-on-year increase in car sales was mainly attributable to the improved purchasing power of consumers coupled with better mobility within the country owing to continued recovery from the Covid-induced disruptions.

Topline Securities analyst Sunny Kumar said that local car sales (including sales of non-PAMA members) came in at around 24,000 units in January 2022, which were down 25% month-on-month.

“The decline in month-on-month sales is due to high base and pre-buying in anticipation of price increase by auto assemblers, we believe,” he said in a report.

According to company-wise breakdown, Honda Atlas Cars reported the largest growth of 66% as its sales rose from 2,450 units in January 2021 to 4,064 units in January this year.

It was followed by Indus Motor Company that recorded a 25% jump in car bookings that reached 6,797 units in January 2022. The company had managed to sell 5,452 units in January 2021.

Hyundai Nishat Motor’s sales grew from 515 units in January 2021 to 612 units in the corresponding month of current year.

Sales of Pak Suzuki Motor Company increased slightly from 9,013 units in January 2021 to 9,037 units in January 2022.

“Pak Suzuki Motor Company and Honda Atlas Cars posted declines of 42% and 14% month-on-month respectively due to a high base effect and supply constraints for Pak Suzuki,” said Kumar.

“Indus Motor Company’s sales were up 9% month-on-month in January 2022, led by increase in sales of Fortuner and Hilux variants.”

He pointed out that the new entrant into Pakistan’s automobile arena, Hyundai Nishat, sold 612 units in January 2022, down 20% month-on-month.

He said that tractor sales in January 2022 rose 11% month-on-month, but fell 5% year-on-year.

Al Ghazi Tractors recorded an increase of 66% month-on-month and 45% year-on-year in its sales while Millat Tractors’ sales declined 9% month-on-month and 22% year-on-year.

Bike sales went up 8% month-on-month, while the demand was down 6% year-on-year in January 2022.

It took bike sales in first seven months of fiscal year 2021-22 to 1.1 million units, down 2% year-on-year, he said.

“Trucks and bus sales were up 132% month-on-month and 114% year-on-year in January 2022, led by increased transportation activity,” he said.

In the first seven months (July-January) of the ongoing fiscal year, automobile sales came in at 156,586 units, which was 61% higher than 97,469 units in the same period of previous fiscal year.

“During first seven months of fiscal year 2021-22, Pakistan’s auto sales increased due to macroeconomic recovery and single-digit interest rate,” Kumar said.