General Manager of MG Motors Pakistan Syed Asif Ahmed has said the company plans to introduce three models of completely knocked down (CKD) cars in Pakistan, including the HS model, as part of its five-year plan.

In a statement to Business Recorder, Ahmed said Pakistan was a “very CKD-oriented market”.

CKD vehicles are assembled locally compared to completely built units (CBUs) that need to be imported.

“We are working closely with the Engineering Development Board. Despite global logistical crises, especially in China after Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions, plant equipment has arrived in Pakistan. We are working day and night to get it operational in the current fiscal year,” the general manager told Business Recorder.

However, he did not specify the other two CKD models the company would introduce.

“We want to provide Pakistan customers with multiple options and features in our vehicles,” he added.

Ahmed said the safety features in locally assembled cars were “considerably weak”, adding that MG Motors Pakistan would stick to global standards for its CKD models without any “extra charges”.

MG is “not in the race to become the biggest player” in Pakistan, he told the publication. “Like elsewhere in the world, each brand should have 10 per cent to 15pc market share to ensure healthy competition.”

The general manager also called for Pakistan to take advantage of its geographical position to access automobile markets in Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.

“We are not a very attractive local market for global auto players, but we can surely become a vehicle-exporting nation,” he said.

The automobile industry should stop looking towards the government for handouts, Ahmed said, adding that the industry was “already overprotected”.

“The only sustainable, long-term solution to the recurring crises faced by the auto industry is the export of made-in-Pakistan vehicles,” he commented.

Ahmed said he would only ask the government to incentivise electric vehicles as it was a new avenue and the support would have a multiplier effect.