Auto sales slow to 31-month low

Reduced sales attributed to partial halt to production, price surge

KARACHI:

Automobile sales hit a 31-month low at 10,867 units in January 2023 amid a partial halt to small car production due to restricted imports of parts and a price surge in the wake of massive rupee devaluation.

Sales of high-end cars, however, showed a notable growth in January, compared to the previous month, despite all odds.

Sales of automobiles (cars, light commercial vehicles, vans and jeeps) fell to almost half at 10,867 units in January 2023 compared with the same month of last year, research houses reported, citing the data of Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (Pama) on Monday.

Sales dropped 37% in the month under review compared to the previous month of December 2022.

Cumulatively, in the first seven months (July-January) of the current fiscal year, auto sales declined by 40% to 94,296 units compared to 156,586 units in the same period of the preceding year.

Topline Research said in its comments that the drastic drop in sales was “primarily attributable to the escalating car prices, expensive auto financing and low purchasing power of consumers.”

Besides, the unavailability of parts (completely knocked down units) amid a partial halt to their import led to non-production days and shutdown mainly at Pak Suzuki plant, it added.

Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) registered a decline of 67% year-on-year and 74% month-on-month to 2,946 units, “the lowest sales since April 2020 when it registered zero sales due to the Covid-related shutdown”, the research house said.

Indus Motor reported an increase of 26% month-on-month to 3,570 units followed by Honda Atlas Cars at 2,704 units in January 2023.

Hyundai’s sales were up 81% month-on-month where Tuscon’s sales rose by 69% to 620 units and those of Sonata by 241% to 191 units in January 2023, it said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2023.

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