September 5, 2003	Friday	Rajab 7, 1424

KARACHI, Sept 4: Used car dealers have termed the setting up of ‘task force’ by the industries minister to look into the high prices, late delivery schedule and curbing menace of premium and middleman profiteering as another attempt to safeguard interests of local auto assemblers.

All Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APMDA) has informed the Prime Minister and the President on September 3 that the nomination of the members of the task force to look into the burning issues in car industry is yet another attempt of Liaquat Ali Khan Jatoi to save his ministry as well as local assemblers.

“The minister’s predecessors has also been using the same tactics but things continue to go from bad to worse,” APMDA chairman, H.M. Shahzad said in the letter.

The rate of premium on locally assembled cars has gone up by 10-15 per cent in the markets from the control price.

He said desired results of setting up of the task force could only be achieved if people from the private sectors trade bodies like FPCCI and KCCI are inducted otherwise things would continue to run on the same course as had been happening in the past.

Market sources said that previous efforts of Liaquat Ali Khan Jatoi in persuading the assemblers to cut prices in April this year had virtually failed to give any desired results and only two assemblers Pak Suzuki and Honda Atlas, as a formality, cut the prices by Rs2000-3000 and Rs12,000-17,000 respectively. Makers of Toyota had not responded to the call of the minister.

Sources said that the setting up of task force might not give any desired results keeping in view previous efforts by the government to cut prices and check the menace of premium.

“There is hardly any locally assembled car that is available on company price these days,” Shahzad said.

Some car makers are still collecting 100 per cent value of the car in advance at the time of booking without giving any definite schedule of delivery. Assemblers are earning lucrative interest on huge amount of customers’ money.

As far as the government’s strict warning that imports may be allowed if assemblers failed to reduce prices also sounds weird as the industries minister has been frequently ruling out the possibility of opening import of used cars at many forums as it may result in collapse of local industry and loss of jobs and billions of rupees in revenue.