Price hikes have radically altered the complexion of Pakistan’s car market. Prices of sedans and SUVs in particular have shot up significantly, placing them beyond affordability for most buyers.
Like Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC), Honda Atlas Cars Limited’s (HACL) lineup also consists mainly of two sedans, and a crossover SUV. The prices of all of these vehicles have gone up by a whopping 22-38%.
Here’s how much the prices of Honda cars have increased between January – October 2022:
| Variants | Price in January 2022 (Rs.) | Price in October 2022 (Rs.) | % Increase |
| City |
|||
| 1.2 M/T | 2,729,000 | 3,769,000 | 38% |
| 1.2 CVT | 2,949,000 | 3,899,000 | 32% |
| 1.5 CVT | 3,146,000 | 4,139,000 | 32% |
| 1.5 Aspire M/T | 3,279,000 | 4,299,000 | 31% |
| 1.5 Aspire CVT | 3,454,000 | 4,479,000 | 30% |
| Civic |
|||
| Civic M-CVT | 5,099,000 | 6,349,000 | 24% |
| Civic Oriel M-CVT | 5,399,000 | 6,599,000 | 22% |
| Civic RS LL-CVT | 6,149,000 | 7,549,000 | 23% |
| BR-V |
|||
| 1.5 iVTEC S CVT | 3,689,000 | 4,939,000 | 34% |
The latest Engineering Development Board (EDB) report suggests that carmakers have increased their product prices by almost 47% in the past nine months.
EDB has rationalized the increase in car prices over the last nine months by highlighting a few pertinent challenges including:
- Depreciation of the local currency by 31%.
- Increasing raw material costs, shipping costs, logistics costs, and overall operational costs.
- Tax rate hikes.
- Sanctions on imports.
The government has demanded carmakers reduce prices of their cars following the depreciation of the dollar, while the automakers demand a conducive auto policy to lower operational costs.
With both parties at odds with each other, the car industry’s progress remains in limbo.
