The nightmarish decline of the car industry continues due to the economic crisis in Pakistan.
According to the latest data from Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), carmakers (association members only) collectively sold just 4,463 vehicles in April 2023, witnessing a month-over-month (MoM) decline of 52%, and a year-over-year (YoY) decrease of 80%.
Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC) sold 1,948 cars, reporting a 2% MoM increase in sales. Honda Atlas Cars Limited (HACL) sold only 207 cars, seeing a huge 75% MoM decline. Likewise, Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) sold a respectable 1,474 cars, observing a massive decline of 74% in monthly sales.
Hyundai Nishat Motors Private Limited (HNMPL) sold 725 cars last month, recording a 13% MoM decrease in sales. Once again, Tucson remained the company’s front-runner.
The sales of some popular cars are as follows:
| Passenger Vehicle Sales | |||
| Passenger Vehicles | Units Sold in March 2023 | Units Sold in April 2023 | Month-on-Month % Difference |
| PSMC | |||
| Cultus | 475 | 177 | -63% |
| Alto | 2,542 | 820 | -68% |
| Wagon R | 489 | 99 | -80% |
| Bolan | 782 | 163 | -79% |
| Swift | 877 | 145 | -83% |
| Toyota IMC | |||
| Corolla and Yaris | 1,119 | 1,007 | -10% |
| Fortuner and Hilux | 793 | 941 | 19% |
| Honda Atlas | |||
| Civic and City | 611 | 159 | -74% |
| HR-V & BR-V | 224 | 48 | -79% |
| Hyundai Nishat | |||
| Tucson | 380 | 315 | -17% |
| Elantra | 188 | 119 | -37% |
| Sonata | 118 | 155 | 31% |
The local currency instability and tax hikes have forced the car industry to increase prices. Recently, various major carmakers including Honda, Suzuki, etc. increased the prices of their vehicles by considerable margins, with other carmakers to follow soon.
With this outlook, the car industry’s fate future seems bleak for the foreseeable future.
