KARACHI: Sales of locally manufactured cars remained flat at 118,102 units in 2013-14, compared to 118,830 units in 2012-13.

Only sales of Honda City, in 1,300cc and above, excelled by 22 per cent to 13,741 units, compared to 11,285 units in 2012-13.

Toyota Corolla sales however, dipped to 29,087 from 32,608 units followed by Honda Civic to 9,933 from 9,950 units; Suzuki Swift to 5,128 from 6,096 units and Suzuki Liana to 161 from 164 units.

Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMCL) has not officially announced discontinuation of Suzuki Liana but vendors said that the sedan production has already come to a halt. This is evident from its production, 72 units each in October and December 2013.

Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (Pama) figures showed that sales of Suzuki Cultus improved by 13pc to 14,682 from 13,308 units in 2012-13. PSMCL’s WagonR production and sales stood at 2,208 and 1,621 units, respectively, during April to June 2013-14.

Hyundai Santro production resumed in January 2014 with 82 units after a long gap but the company ended its production in February 2014 with 128 units. From January to June 2014, production and sales of Santro were registered at 210 and 152 units respectively.

In 800cc vehicles, Suzuki Mehran’s sale plunged by 9pc to 29,509 units, compared to 32,407 units. However, Bolan sales grew by 8.8pc to 14,088 units from 12,941 units.

Analyst Mohammad Tahir Saeed at Top Line Securities, attributed stagnant volumes to higher imported car inventory and imposition of higher taxes.

Weak sales of Toyota Coro­lla in the last three months were registered, as people deferred their buying till the availability of new model.

He estimated 30pc growth in local car sales in 2014-15 to 178,000 units if Punjab government launches Taxi Scheme under which 50,000 cars would be offered on subsidised rates.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2014