Car sales decline by 41% in August: PAMA stats
The statistics for the month of August 2019 have been revealed by Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) which shows a decline of 41% and 10% in the sales of cars and motorbikes respectively.
The released stats relate to automotive sales during the month of August this year as compared to its corresponding period last year. The local auto sector is still struggling in the sales race like the previous months. The local production is also down significantly due to a considerable drop in demand amid higher prices of vehicles. It is worthy to mention here that all the car sales data has been collected from the website of PAMA. The passenger car sales are divided into three categories, as mentioned below:
Passenger car sales in a free-fall:
The stats show that the trend of buying cars of 1300cc engine displacement or above has gone down by 62.66% as compared to the sales in August 2018. As we move down to the 1000cc engine capacity category of cars, the sales have declined by 49.50% in August 2019 as compared to the corresponding period during last year. The overall passenger car sales are recorded at 9126 units as compared to whopping 15,389 units last year hence declined by 40.69%. However, let’s talk about the performance of the local auto manufacturers individually.
Pak Suzuki sales reduced to half:
Pak Suzuki produces cars in the entry-level segment which have been the top-selling cars in the country for a long time. However, with the increase in the prices of cars due to devaluation of Pakistani Rupee against the US dollar, its car sales have gone down by 56.15% in August 2019 as compared to its corresponding period last year. The hot-selling Wagon R has suffered the most in the recent few months, and this time it records a drop of massive 73.67% in the period under review. The company could only manage to sell 645 units in comparison with 2450 units in the corresponding period last year. Undoubtedly, the launch of the all-new 660cc Alto has left its mark on the sales of Wagon R whose price has crossed Rs.1.5 million-mark. Suzuki Alto comes at a starting price of just above Rs.1.1 million. On the other hand, Cultus is somehow resisting the trending drop to some extent. It has once again shown a decline of 6.59%, which is the lowest among all the cars being produced locally. It is imperative to mention here that the sale numbers of Suzuki Alto have not been counted in the overall sales figure. It is because the car was not in production back in August 2018.
Toyota Indus suffers a setback:
Toyota Indus operates in cars of 1300 cc and above engine capacity and majorly dominated by its Corolla model. Toyota Corolla, however, has suffered quite badly in the current economic crisis. The company sold just 1727 units as compared to 4204 units last year in August, down by 58.92%. The company’s SUV Fortuner recorded a sale of only 88 units as compared to 204 units last year, a decline by 56.86%. The minimum drop among all its vehicles belongs to Hilux with 41.31%. Overall, Toyota Indus sold 2173 units as compared to 5018 units, down by 56.69% in August 2019.
Honda Atlas in deep waters:
Honda Atlas, which is Japanese auto-giant in Pakistan, produces Civic and City as its main models. The company doesn’t reveal separate sales stats for both cars now. The automaker sold as many as 1106 units of Civic and City during August 2019 as compared to 3469 units in the corresponding period last year. A decline of 68.11% has been recorded during this time. Honda BR-V also couldn’t sustain its sales numbers and went down by 57.72%. The company’s overall sale dipped by 66.82% for the locally produced vehicles during this period and is also the highest among the top auto manufacturers in the country.
Trucks & Buses:
The sales of buses and trucks also plunged by an overall 61.08% in August 2019 as compared to the same month last year. Only 42 units of the locally produced buses were sold in this period.
LCV’s, Vans & Jeeps:
With a decline of 57.47% sales, the local industry also suffered in the LCV’s, vans, and jeeps category. A total of 296 units were sold in August 2019 as compared to 696 units during the same month last year.
Pick-ups:
The locally produced pickups include Suzuki Ravi, Toyota Hilux, JAC and the new entrant Isuzu D-Max. The sales of all the pickups weren’t quite encouraging during this period as this segment of vehicles suffered a drop of 51.54%. Isuzu only managed to sell 64 units of D-Max as compared to 358 units of its rival Toyota Hilux.
Tractors:
Among the trucks, Massey Ferguson has been the top-selling truck in Pakistan. However, its sales have also dipped by 58.79% whereas Fiat has shown a defining increase in its tractor sales by 24.07% during this period. Fiat also overcame the sales of Massey Ferguson tractors with 1304 units sold as compared to 1228 units.
Motorcycles & 3-wheelers:
Pakistan has been a hot-selling market for the motorbikes and three-wheelers for years. Under the current economic slowdown process and surging prices of vehicles, motorbikes are the only hope for the general public for commuting purpose at an affordable cost. In motorbikes, Atlas Honda holds the maximum market share by a reasonable difference. The company has sustained its sales number during this period with a marginal increase of 0.11%. It sold 80,104 units in August 2019 as compared to 80,012 units in the same month during last year. However, other motorbikes manufacturers, including Suzuki, Yamaha, Road Prince, and United have recorded a drop in sales by a good margin. The sales of Road Prince were down by 23.36%, Suzuki by 15.73%, United by 9.77% and Yamaha by 6.35% respectively. By including the three-wheelers produced by United, Sazgar and Road Prince, the overall sales in this sector were recorded at 126,338 units, down by 9.91% as compared to 140,243 units in the corresponding period last year. Similarly, the sales of 3-wheelers also plunged during the period under review and contributed to the drop in the overall sales figure.
The automobile sector of Pakistan is in deep crisis, and the car sales have equally declined in this year hence forcing the auto manufacturers to reduce its production volumes. The demand has plunged substantially due to the surging prices of automobiles contributed by the sharp and record depreciation of the local currency against the US dollar in recent times. The government further worsened the situation by imposing additional taxes and duties on the locally produced cars such as Federal Excise Duty (FED). All these factors piled up and raised the prices away from the reach of the general public. Several auto manufacturers have also revised their production days due to low demand in the market. Honda kept their production plant closed for almost ten days in July as its inventories piled up to over 2000 cars. Toyota also announced to produce vehicles for only five days a week. This situation is certainly alarming for the local auto sector where new entrants are making their way with long-term investment plans. Such conditions would only discourage the new global players in introducing new vehicles in the country at competitive prices. The government should waive off additional duties such as FED which have dented the car sales significantly.
What are your thoughts on the current situation of low car sales in the local auto sector? Let us know and stay connected with PakWheels for more statistical updates.