Cruise control: Automobile sales continue to drive upwards

Lower taxes and prices in current fiscal year act as turbocharger.

KARACHI:

Automobile sales showed an upsurge of 24% during July to October 2011 due to lower taxes and price decrease.

Sales stood at 58,576 units in the first four months of fiscal 2012 compared with 47,143 units in the same period last year, according to data released by Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association on Monday.

The government removed 2.5% special excise duty on imported and locally manufactured vehicles coupled with reduction in general sales tax to 16% from 17% in June, which drove up demand for vehicles, said Summit Capital analyst Sarfraz Abbasi. Followed decrease in taxes, car makers decreased car prices Rs10,000 to 40,000.

Market leader Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited led from the front with sales rising 38% to 34,877 units during the period under review. Apart from the low base effect, the growth was also on account of deliveries of taxis in the newly launched taxi scheme by the provincial government of Punjab.

Sales of Swift, the latest addition to the family, more than doubled to 2,328 units against 969 units in the same period last year.

Struggling Liana showed a slight increase in demand to 168 units compared with 123 units in the same period last year. Ravi pickup experienced a massive growth of 23% to 5,722 units.

Indus Motor Company, maker of the country’s highest selling car, Toyota Corolla, recorded a 7% growth in sales to 17,806 units during the four-month period.

Hilux led the growth in sales with a gigantic leap of 135% to 1,099 units against 647 units in the same period last year.

Toyota Corolla sales jumped by 6% to 15,175 units against 14,622 units last year. New variants launched by the company in 1,600cc segment and compressed natural gas (CNG) kit-fitted vehicles introduced in the already established market acted as a catalyst for growth.

Daihatsu Cuore remained the only segment of the company whose sales declined by 19% to 1,532 vehicles.

Honda Atlas also showed a handsome demand growth of 14% YoY to 5,893 units against sales of 5,172 units in the first four months of the previous fiscal year. City, the more popular of the two models, posted 20% growth to 3,647 units against sales of 3,041 units last year.

Meanwhile, the more expensive Civic posted a modest rise of 5% to 2,246 units.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th,  2011.