Pakistan has recorded another huge surge in car imports in the last 9 months of the fiscal year 2022 (FY2022). The data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) shows that car imports in completely built-up (CBU) form increased by 50 percent to $244 million from July 2021 till March 2022, up from $163m recording during the same period in FY2021.
This is a second consecutive rise in CBU vehicle imports, as the industry recorded a 158 percent rise in imports in FY21 compared to FY20. However, that rise was due to the resumption of business activity after COVID-19 lockdowns.
MG has once again come under the magnifying glass for being among the few car companies to only deal in imported vehicles. According to a media report, MG has imported slightly over 12,000 CBU SUVs so far, which, according to some analysts and influential figures, is a major contributor to the soaring import bill.
To clarify the matter, a senior MG official told Dawn that certain parties are taking PBS figures out of context in a campaign against the company. He added that car parts, accessories, and CBU imports contribute to 3 percent of the total import bill. He added that 86 percent of that 3 percent is taken up by the imports of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) and Semi Knocked Down (SKD) kits.
He further claimed that used cars accounted for 90 percent of the total import bill of $244 million in 9MFY22. He lamented that the government isn’t accounting for the 22,000 used cars that came to Pakistan under various schemes in 2021.
He added that MG is still waiting for its manufacturing certificate from the Engineering Development Board (EDB) for which it applied back in September 2021. He added that the company will discontinue CBU vehicles as soon as it receives the certificate.