LAHORE, Dec 4: Out of 6,659 cars, buses, trucks and vans imported during the first 10 months of 2003, some 4,200 or 63 per cent were brought under personal baggage/gift schemes, sources in the industry say.

Used units brought into the country under the personal baggage and gift schemes included 1,741 buses and trucks as well as 2,459 passenger cars and vans.

On the other hand, the new automobiles imported included 1,247 passenger cars, SUVs and vans.

It may be recalled that the five local assemblers had produced 75,441 units in the fiscal 2002-03. This compares to 47,117 units produced in 2000-01, and 49,656 in 2001-02. “Projected production for the ongoing fiscal year is 114,000 units against an installed capacity of 108,000 units of all units,” the sources said.

“The figures show that both the assemblers and vendors need to invest heavily to enhance their production to meet the increasing demand for the passenger cars and any change in the existing auto policy could hamper their future investment and expansion plans,” the sources added.

Indus Motors, which enhanced its production to 20,486 units in 2002-03 from 10,305 in 2001-02, will assemble 32,000 units during the current fiscal year against its installed capacity of 26,000.

Pak Suzuki and Dewan Motors will utilize their entire capacity to produce 50,000 and 20,000 units, respectively, before the year is out, while Honda Atlas will produce 12,000 units as against its installed capacity of 6,000 cars. “Only Gandhara Nissan, with the capacity to assemble 6,000 units, is however not going to produce even a single unit this year,” the sources said.

“There is no restriction on import of new or used vehicles and anyone can bring any vehicle, the sources said. But, they warned, “it will be disastrous for vendors if the government at any stage decides to reduce protection allowed to car assemblers who have and are still in the process of enhancing their output to meet growth in demand without any concrete evidence to corroborate the claims that it would last in the coming years.”

They said the vendors would be the real sufferer of a negative change in the existing policy. “The assemblers don’t have much to lose. They will begin importing their products and begin trading. But what would we do? Pack up and lose huge amounts (invested) in this business? And what would become of thousands of employees?,” he asked.

A PAAPAM official said the “government must implement the auto industry’s recommendations on making laws to restrict transfer of new cars at least for six months”. “New cars should be registered in the name of those who book them for discouraging the investors from charging premiums from genuine buyers,” he said.

Moreover, he proposed reduction in taxes that form 30 per cent of the price of a car to provide relief to buyers.