KARACHI: Sales of cars produced locally edged up 1.7 per cent year-on-year to 139,570 units in July-March, the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) said on Tuesday.
A plunge of 41pc in Suzuki Bolan sales to nearly 15,000 units after the end of Punjab Rozgar Scheme was largely compensated by buoyant sales of Honda City and Civic which jumped 52pc to 28,120 units. Besides, Suzuki WagonR sales nearly doubled to 12,595.
Sales of Cultus, which is going to be replaced by a new version shortly, and Mehran were almost steady at 11,906 and 28,036 units, respectively. Suzuki Swift sales rose 9.5pc to 3,281.
Hashim Sohail of Topline Securities said auto sales, including those of light commercial vehicle (LCVs) and jeeps, continued to witness double-digit growth during the nine months. He expected car and LCV sales at 270,000 units, including imports of 60,000 units, in the current fiscal year.
Sales of Pak Suzuki Motor Company remained strong due to healthy sales volumes of WagonR and Bolan. Monthly sales of WagonR crossed 1,700 in March for the first time ever. Cultus production halved to 710 units in March as Suzuki gears up to unveil ‘New Cultus’, whose official launch is expected next weekend.
Indus Motor Company Ltd witnessed contraction during the period under review due to operational issues. However, Fortuner sales hit record 243 units in March.
Honda Atlas Cars sales continued to remain buoyant. Mr Sohail said that around 5,000 units of BR-V have been booked so far.
Sales of Suzuki Ravi fell 45pc to 13,988 units after the end of Punjab Rozgar Scheme. Toyota Hilux sales rose 13.5pc to 4,239.
TRACTORS: Sales of Fiat tractors surged 75pc to 13,926 units while those of Massey Ferguson climbed 78pc to 24,159. Mr Sohail expected sales to rise further due to lower prices and improving crop yield. Moreover, exports by Millat Tractors Ltd under its agreement with AGCO would also help the overall sales.
TRUCKS: Sales of truck companies which are members of PAMA — Hino, Nissan, Master and Isuzu — jumped 42pc to 5,321 in July-March. Bus sales rose to 853 units from 700. He expected truck sales to continue to fare well on the back of increase in demand under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and better law and order.
BIKES: Sales of Honda rose 18pc to 711,395 in the nine-month period, those of Suzuki by 3pc to 13,599. Sales of Yamaha dropped 30pc to 8,648. Sales of United Auto Industries rose 25pc to 241,067 units and that of Road Prince jumped 37pc to 156,232.
Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2017
