Since the introduction of car leasing and financing, vehicle sales in Pakistan have increased several fold. All of this started in the beginning of this century as these loans made it easy for people to buy new or even used cars.
This also sprung up new business like rent-a-car and renting cars became a cheaper and more viable business option. That’s the time when Pakistan’s automobile industry was booming but all of this came to a stall when the world saw the financial crises.
Financial meltdown wasn’t so prominent in Pakistan but the countries which own most of the automobile industry faced big losses and this resulted in increased prices. As the prices started to increase, Pakistan’s automobile sales declined. The sales numbers started improving from 2012 onwards.
In March 2015, Pakistan automobile industry broke the record for most number of cars sold in a single month ever
According to The Nation, car sales in Pakistan will be at least higher than what has been seen in the past five years. Reports from Pakistan Today also confirm the number and expect sales higher than 165,000 in the year 2015.
In March 2015 alone, Pakistan automobile industry broke the record for most number of cars sold in a single month ever. March saw a 72 percent increase in local vehicle sales according to Pakistan Automotive Manufacturer’s Association (PAMA). If the sales continue at this rate, Pakistan might even see the biggest car sales numbers in a year.
One of the major factors for increased sales in 2015 is quoted to be the Toyota Corolla 2015, which brought a long-due new design to the vehicle. Another reason for increased sales is the Suzuki Bolan, which is topping the charts thanks to Punjab Government’s self-employment scheme. The scheme makes it easier to buy Suzuki Bolan and Ravi. Both of these vehicles have seen their sales doubled during 2015.
Car sales numbers are up by about 30 percent year-over-year
State Bank’s move to reduce interests from 10 percent to 7 percent might also have had something to do with improved vehicle sales. The 3 percent decrease was enough to bring more consumers towards the buying new cars.
All of these factors combined, helped strengthen the local automobile industry and car sales numbers by about 30 percent year-over-year. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that Volkswagen has shown interest in entering Pakistan with their automobiles.
When considering the unjustified profit margins of the local auto industry and the increasing trend to import used cars, the news is certainly amazing. Perhaps if the local manufacturers justified their prices and used the advanced tech used in international models, Pakistan would see even greater vehicle sales and less imports of used vehicles.
Source: Carmudi