KARACHI: Auto sales — cars, pickups, vans and light commercial vehicles — clocked in at 12,084 units in February, reflecting a 24 per cent year-on-year rise and a 29pc month-on-month fall.

The month-on-month decrease is primarily due to the high base effect as buyers delay purchases from December to January to secure new-year registrations, and the Sazgar Engineering Works Company released its sales data for the two months late.

Myesha Sohail of Topline Securities said the year-on-year rise in car sales is driven by lowered interest rates, im­­proved consumer confidence, and the introduction of newer variants and models.

Sales surged by 50pc to 89,770 units in 8MFY25 from 59,700 units a year ago, according to data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manu­fac­tur­ers Association (PAMA).

She said that KIA Lucky Motors sales for February were around 850 units among non-PAMA members.

Sazgar Engineering’s February sales stood at 883 units, up by 113pc year-on-year but fell by 56pc month-on-month. The January numbers included cumulative sales for December 2024 and January, creating an anomaly and a high uptick for the company. The 8MFY25 sales rose to 7,084 units, marking a 166pc increase from 2,667 units in 8MFY24.

Bikes, tractors and buses

The two- and three-wheeler sales increased by 35pc in February to 126,699 units year-on-year but fell 9pc month-on-month. This excludes numbers for Royal Prince Motorcycles and three-wheelers, as data is still awaited. Total two- and three-wheelers sales were 962,315 units in 8MFY25, a rise of 30pc year-on-year.

The total tractor industry recorded sales of 1,534 units during February, down 54pc year-on-year and 44pc month-on-month. Tractor sales were 29pc less at 21,692 units during 8MFY25 compared to last year.

Truck and bus sales in February were up 38pc to 486 units year-on-year while it fell 22pc month-on-month.

Mashood Ali Khan, an auto expert and a local vendor, said that overall car sales would remain brisk until June due to low interest rates, rising remittances, stable exchange rates, falling inflation, etc.

However, the situation will change from July as much will depend on the IMF-dictated policies for the industrial sector in budget 2025-26.

He believed that people drawing Rs200,000-225,000 salary could not purchase brand-new locally made cars. As a result, they are shifting towards new 100-150cc bikes. No serious efforts are being made to lower the prices of four-wheelers.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2025