Lengthy delivery periods have always been a hassle for car buyers all over Pakistan as they pay the booking price well in advance and then have to wait for their cars to be delivered after several months.
A screenshot of Honda Atlas’s booking confirmation SMS sent to one of its customers was posted on social media earlier today, according to which Honda Atlas will deliver the new City to its customer in March 2022, which is almost nine months from the date of the booking in July 2021.
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ProPakistani reached out to multiple authorized Honda Atlas dealerships for the confirmation of this update and was informed that the car will, in fact, be delivered to customers in March next year.
An argument could be made that the City is a new and highly-anticipated car, hence the long wait, but several other cars that were launched not too long ago did not have such a long waiting period.
People have realized the issue and are now calling the automaker out for delaying deliveries. However, at the same time, the number of people booking the new City is also quite astonishing despite the 9-month waiting period and the fact that Honda has not yet revealed the entire specs, features, and price of the vehicle.
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Extended delivery periods also breed the menace of ‘own money’ in the automotive market. After the enactment of the 2021-22 financial budget and the new auto policy, the government had announced the following measures to curb the ‘own-money culture’:
- Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 200,000 tax if the first registration is not in the name of the person who booked the vehicle.
- Compulsory payment of KIBOR+3% mark up by manufacturers on delivery beyond 60 days.
- Maximum upfront payment on booking that is not to exceed 20 percent of the invoice value at the time of booking.
- The sharing of real-time trackable online booking and assembling status with the customers has been made compulsory for all carmakers.
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Along with the aforementioned challenges, Honda Atlas risks irking its customers with the immensely long waiting period for the delivery of the new City.
Customers must claim KIBOR plus 3% mark up. Pl encourage them to curb this menace.
Only policy creation is not enough to counter this issue. Govt must take immediate actions for is implementation and safe guard customers interest regardless required to impose some non popular steps till aligned these measures.