2022 has come to an end, leaving the fate of Pakistan’s car industry in a somewhat questionable state. The beginning of 2022 had a lot of promise, thanks to new car launches such as Peugeot 2008, Haval H6, Changan Oshan X7, Chery Tiggo twins, and a few others.
Riding high on the strong car demand, several carmakers imported new vehicles for testing or marketing purposes, while the reports of other vehicle launches flooded the market.
Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse around mid-2022 following a sudden regime change and economic turmoil. The new regime — in the interest of saving Pakistan’s dwindling foreign exchange reserves — imposed restrictions on auto-sector imports.
Coincidentally, the local currency started losing value at an alarming rate, prompting all car companies to increase prices by up to 47%. That, coupled with the production cuts due to import restrictions, sent car sales on a nosedive. It also led automakers to scrap any plans for a new launch in the volatile market.
That said, here are the cars that were expected to launch in 2022 but didn’t:
Note: Bear in mind that none of the automakers officially mentioned a launch date for these vehicles. This list is based on speculations and market whispers.
Prince Pearl Automatic
Reports around the launch of Prince Pearl’s automatic variant had been circling the market for a while. Earlier in 2022, a dealership also told ProPakistani that Regal Automobiles would launch the automatic variant of Prince Pearl in mid-2022. However, the recession at that time reportedly quashed those plans.
Lately, Pearl has become a common sight on the roads, especially after the recent price hikes. The introduction of an automatic variant might have improved its desirability further.
MG GT and MG 3
Early last year, MG started to struggle due to an exponential rise in prices and diminished demand. However, the company’s brightly colored sporty compact sedan helped people maintain their interest in the brand.
MG displayed a variety of vehicles, one of which, was a bright yellow MG GT. It surveyed the general public, asking them to select “the next MG”. It later revealed, based on the poll results, that “the next MG” is, in fact, MG GT.
The announcement also sparked rumors that the company may launch the GT in 2022. Although, a company official later told ProPakistani that the plan is to launch the sedan sometime in 2023. Let us keep our fingers crossed.
Also, it bears mentioning that MG 3 is the brand’s most popular car in Pakistan even though it isn’t available. However, unfortunately, MG 3 wasn’t an option on the aforementioned survey.
GAC GS3
At the end of 2021, reports of a new entrant in the local car industry — Guangzhou Automobile Company (GAC) — started circling the digital media. The company was set to debut in partnership with SUPERPAK Engineering (PVT.) LTD.
The company also teased its subcompact crossover SUV, GS3 on social media, with the standard “coming soon” captions, without ever mentioning the date. After a while, the company went silent.
ProPakistani tried reaching out for comment but received no response regarding its plans. Hopefully, 2023 will be its debut year.
DFSK Glory 500/Seres S3
At the end of 2021, test units of DFSK Glory 500 and its electric doppelganger, Seres S3 reached Karachi. Since then, there have been speculations that the Chinese carmaker may launch the subcompact SUV in Pakistan.
However, the company has remained silent regarding any new launches in 2022. Only recently, did Regal Automobiles post an ad on social media about launching a hybrid and electric vehicle (EV) lineup in Pakistan.
Although, given the company’s silence and the ongoing economic situation, there is no telling when that might happen.
Changan CS35 and Oshan X5
Earlier in 2022, Changan teased two new crossover SUVs for the Pakistani market — CS35 and Oshan X5. The former is a Chery Tiggo 4 competitor while the latter is an MG HS competitor.
Some car news outlets including Pakwheels.com also reviewed a CS35 test unit. Without mentioning an exact date, the company representative stated that it plans to launch both SUVs in Pakistan soon. Unfortunately, “soon” did not mean 2022.
Proton X50
As Pakistan is Proton’s biggest export market, the Malaysian automaker has been vocal about its plans of launching X50 in Pakistan. The X50 debuted in Malaysia in mid-2020 and is the country’s best-selling SUV.
Our readers also expressed excitement for the SUV’s potential launch in Pakistan. In early 2021, Al-Haj Automotive — Proton’s Pakistan-based partner — was finally going to launch the subcompact SUV in Pakistan the following year.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19-based lockdowns in Malaysia damped the company’s initial operations in Pakistan in 2021. The following year, the demand and output suffered yet again at the hands of crippling inflation.
With the new year upon us, there is hope that Proton may finally grace us with the X50.
