KARACHI: The country’s auto sales — cars, jeeps, sport utility vehicles and pickups — touched an 18-month high to 13,284 units during June 2024, showing a growth of 21 per cent month-on-month (MoM) and 120pc year-on-year.

In volumetric terms, the MoM jump in car sales is primarily due to an increase in the sales of Indus Motors Company, which rose by 44pc to 2,957 units and Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd, which went up by 15pc to 6,885 units in June this year.

Hyundai Nishat Motor recorded sales of 1,059 units (up 55pc MoM) while Sazgar Engineering Works (SAZEW) sales were 871 units, up by 12pc. Only Honda Atlas Cars Limited (HACL) recorded sales of 1,095 units, down by 8pc MoM in June 2024.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the significant jump of 120pc in total car sales is attributed to a low base from last year amid plant shutdowns, Myesha Sohail of TopLine Securities said.

Total sales of cars, jeeps, vans and pickups during FY24 were down by 18pc to 103,827 units YoY which is the lowest sales after 15 years due to escalating car prices, expensive auto financing, and the low purchasing power of consumers, she said.

Ms Sohail believed that improvement in economic activity following the IMF’s new programme, a stable currency, and a reduction in interest rates would lead to an improvement in car sales.

She said bike sales were down 24pc MoM but surged by 8pc YoY to 89,895 units in June 2024. Atlas Honda Ltd (AHL) recorded sales of 80,000 units, down 22pc MoM and up 7pc YoY, thus taking the total industry sales to 1.15m units, down 3pc in FY24 due to the low purchasing power of consumers.

Total tractor industry sales rose to 4,134 units in June 2024, up by 28pc YoY and 34pc MoM, while FY24 sales clocked in at 45,494 units, up by 47pc YoY due to low base of last year amid floods, she said.

Sales of trucks and buses were also up 21pc MoM and 101pc YoY to 299 units in June 2024. This takes FY24 industry sales to 2,664 units, down 31pc YoY.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2024