Auto sales in Pakistan have plummeted 47% to 109,466 units in the first nine months of the current fiscal year compared to 205,452 units in the same period last year, according to Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers (PAMA). This comes despite a 61% month-on-month increase in March to 9,351 units. The decline is attributed to rising prices, expensive financing and plant shutdowns during the period. In March, truck sales were down 46% to 279 units compared to February’s 521 units and 9MFY23 truck sales dropped 37% to 2,825. Tractor sales also decreased by 49% to 21,233 units compared to 41,603 units in FY22, while two-wheeler sales were down 33% to 908,555 units from 1.348 million in 9MFY22.
Honda Atlas Cars Limited was among the hardest hit with low sales of 835 units in March, a 49% MoM and 77% YoY drop, while sales for 9MFY23 were down 46% to 16,278 units. Sales of Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited plunged by 47% to 57,922 units in July-March FY23 from 109,419 units last year. Indus Motor Company (IMC) saw a YoY fall of 73% and Atlas Honda Limited (AHL) reported a 38% YoY decline in overall bike sales.
Read More: Toyota is testing corolla cross with hydrogen powered racing engine
Sunny Kumar of Topline Securities said the sales of cars, LCVs, jeeps and pickups in March improved due to the availability of completely knocked down (CKD) kits following eased LCs issues, however, the overall 9MFY23 sales remained bearish due to escalating prices, unavailability of CKD kits, unproductive days, costly auto financing due to soaring interest rates and low purchasing power of consumers.
