ISLAMABAD, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association announced on Monday that Pakistan's locally assembled cars and Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) sales volume jumped by 23 percent to 23,562 units in January on the yearly comparison and by 22 percent on the monthly comparison.
The growth was largely attributed to Pak-Suzuki Motor Company's (PSMC) impressive sales numbers of the Wagon-R (an increase of 1,101 units) and Cultus (an increase of 680 units) and a strong response to Honda Atlas Cars' BR-V (an increase of 500 units).
Moreover, recent changes in import procedures have also resulted in a higher offtake for the less than 1,000cc segment, as consumers continue to shift to Pak-Suzuki Motor Company.
According to the Pakistani auto industry's official numbers, volumes for PSMC and Honda Atlas Car (HCAR) increased by 24 percent and 10 percent on yearly comparison while Indus Motor's volumes decreased by 7 percent.
Furthermore, growth was also recorded in LCVs sales, as they increased by 38 percent to 3,638 units in January this year when compared with the sales of 2,629 units in January last year.
Similarly, tractor sales continued to perform well, thereby registering 5,863 units for January, up by 9 percent as against 5,390 units in the same month of last year.
Moreover, motorcycles and three-wheelers also witnessed a fair bit of increase of 20 percent on the yearly comparison and 13 percent on the monthly comparison.
According to the Pakistani auto industry's experts, the volumes for the auto industry are likely to post improved figures in the coming months largely due to the introduction of new models of BR-V, Cultus, Mega Carry, recent facelifts of Corolla and City, availability of cheap auto financing as interest rates are set to stay lower, growing construction activities, and heightened trade volumes on account of development under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
They believe that in the longer run, the introduction of new players in the industry, i.e. Kia, Hyundai, Renault, Ssangyong, Volkswagen etc. and the launch of new models by the current market players would also contribute towards growth in volumes of all auto segments in the days to come.
