The local currency devaluation increased freight charges, and rising raw material costs have prompted automakers to increase the prices of their cars. One of the automotive groups may have suggested a solution to this problem.
In his discussion with The Indian Express, the owner of Hyundai Nishat Motors Private Limited (HNMPL), Mian Mohammed Mansha, said that importing car parts from India can prove to be beneficial for the Pakistani car market.
He stated that:
I am a businessman. That’s why I say that if something is cheaper in India, why should I buy that from another country? The transportation cost is less (from India). There are so many products that we could buy. We (the Nishat Group) make Hyundai cars. Hyundai India is very big. We could buy some parts cheaper from India, than buying from China, for example. And you are also trading with China in such a large way. Your imports from China are huge, and if you look at it, you also have issues with China on the issue of territories and all that.
Pakistan had halted trade activities with India in August 2019 after India’s decision to abolish the regulation that granted occupied Kashmir special status. Mansha stated, “I think we need to move ahead on the resolution of the Kashmir issue, we could take small steps. I do think we need to lower the temperature.”
Hyundai in India
Hyundai is among the largest automotive companies in India that manufactures a vast range of fully indigenous vehicles. The company has three manufacturing plants in India that have a collective capacity to churn out 740,000 cars per year.
Currently, Hyundai Tucson is the only passenger vehicle that both, Hyundai Motor India and HNMPL have in common. The price of Hyundai Tucson in India starts at INR 2.27 million (5.47 million PKR) and goes up to INR 2.74 (6.6 million PKR). Although Tucson’s price in Pakistan is less than that in India, the latter has more variants and each variant has better features.
Pakistani Auto Policy
Pakistan’s latest auto policy encourages automakers to move towards local manufacturing of vehicles. It seeks to create a fully indigenous automotive industry like that in India, so as to reduce import bills and bolster the local industry.
Automakers are still relying on Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits imported from overseas to carry out local assembly of their vehicles. Such a business model is more prone to feel the heat of logistical costs and turbulent local currency.
With the recent views of its owner, it seems that HNMPL is far from willing to pursue local car production in Pakistan.
We need our own manufacturing facility in Pakistan. Chinese automakers should be encouraged to bring production to Pakistan and the rest will follow. Also a few rich people can create their own automobile industry.
When business is more important than humanity!!