The automobile sector of Pakistan remains in hot waters as the change of the year couldn’t change its fortunes. The car sales have remained on the downward graph on year on year basis as revealed by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) stats.
Car sales have plunged by 47.8% in January 2020 as compared to its corresponding period last year while the sales of motorbikes were down by just 3.5% in the same period. On the other hand, the prices of automobiles keep on rising without any apparent reason.
The depreciation of Pakistani Rupee against the US dollar has also stabilized in the last few months now, but in the absence of any regulatory body from the government’s end, the consumers are left with no choice but to buy expensive cars. The major automakers in the country, including Pak Suzuki, Toyota Indus, and Honda Atlas, are suffering from a hefty drop in their sales, yet none of them is ready to reduce the prices of their cars.
The car sales stats are divided into different categories in accordance with the engine capacity and auto manufacturers. All the stats shared in this blog are taken from the PAMA website.
Passenger cars of 1300cc and above:
In the high-end vehicle segment, there are four cars from the three major Japanese automakers in the country. None of them could turn their sales positive as compared to the same period last year. Perhaps Toyota Corolla was the only one to show some growth as it reduced its declining graph in the first month of the year.
Toyota Indus sold 3445 units of Corolla in January 2020 as compared to 5353 units in its corresponding period last year, down by 35.6%. The overall sales of Corolla in the 7 months of the ongoing fiscal year; however, remained down by more than 54%.
On the other hand, Honda Civic and City also couldn’t make significant sales in January 2020. Honda Atlas sold a combined 1878 units of both cars in comparison to 4026 units in January 2019 and recorded a decline of 53.3%. The overall sales in the current FY 2019-20 recorded a drop of nearly 66%.
Similarly, Pak Suzuki could only sell 144 units of its Swift model in January 2020 as compared to 371 units in January 2019, a drop of more than 61%. The overall sales in this category remained down by nearly 44% in January 2020. Have a look at the table below:
Passenger cars of 1000cc:
In the 1000 cc hatchback segment, Suzuki Cultus made a significant recovery from its dropping sales. Pak Suzuki sold 1701 units of Cultus in January 2020 as compared to 2185 units in the same period last year. The drop in sales was recorded at 22.1%, which is less than in the previous months.
However, the overall sales in the seven months of FY 2019-20 plunged by 35.8%. On the other hand, the most promising prospect of the company i.e., Wagon R is facing a forgettable period since the beginning of the current fiscal year. Suzuki Wagon R sales have gone down by more than 73% in this period, and similarly, the company sold only 567 units in January 2020 as compared to a whopping 3100 units in January 2019, down by more than 81%.
The overall sales in the 1000 cc car segment plunged by more than 57% in the first month of 2020.
Passenger cars below 1000 cc:
This segment of vehicles was yet again dominated by Suzuki Alto; however, its sales weren’t as high in January 2020 as they were since its launch. Pak Suzuki sold 1794 units of Alto, the lowest in the current fiscal year for the 660cc entry-level hatchback.
Overall, the company has sold 25,452 units of the hatchback in the seven months of FY 2019-20. The sales of Suzuki Bolan also went down by nearly 65% in January 2020, as only 564 units of the vehicle were sold in this period.
Total Passenger car sales:
The total passenger car sales in January 2020 went down by 47.8%. Just 10,095 units of cars were sold in this period as compared to 19,353 units in its corresponding period last year. The overall passenger car sales in the current fiscal year faced a drop of 43.9% on year on year basis.
Pak Suzuki car sales:
The highly affected sales in the first month of 2020 belong to Pak Suzuki. The overall sales of the company dropped by 52.7% in the last month as compared to its corresponding period last year. Suzuki Mehran has almost gone out of the market now as some of its inventory units were still making sales in recent months. Suzuki Alto suddenly lost its charm in January 2020 as the company only managed to sell 1794 units, which are by far the least number if we see its sales in previous months.
Suzuki Wagon R is already in deep waters for more than 6 months now and once again recorded a drop of more than 81%, which is unbelievable for a car that has enjoyed running sales for years. However, a large portion of its consumers now prefers to buy the entry-level Alto due to the high rising prices. The sales of Ravi and Bolan went down by 56% and 65% respectively in the last month.
Suzuki Cultus was the least affected model of the automaker in this period, with a decline of just 22% in its sales. The sales of Pak Suzuki in July to January period remained down by 40.2%.
Toyota Indus car sales:
Toyota Indus is one of the leading automakers in Pakistan. The sales of Toyota Indus were yet again led by its popular Corolla model. The company sold 3445 units of Corolla in January 2020, which also makes it the highest seller among all the cars in the local auto sector. However, its sales were still down by more than 35% since the carmaker sold 5353 units in January 2019. The company is also reportedly discontinuing the 1.3L variants of Corolla and offering several promotions to its customers that probably grew its sales.
Toyota Hilux also performed comparatively better than the last month of 2019. IMC sold 427 units of Hilux as compared to 638 units in its corresponding period last year, down by just above 33%. The sales of Fortuner witnessed the highest decline of nearly 42% in the company’s lineup. Only 150 units of Fortuner were sold in January 2020. Overall, the company’s sales were down by 35.6% last month. In the ongoing fiscal year, its sales declined by just over 53%.
Honda Atlas car sales:
Honda Atlas is yet to recover from its loss of market share due to the plunging sales of Civic and City. In January 2020, HACPL once again managed to sell only 1878 combined units of both the cars as compared to 4026 units last year.
The company recorded a drop of more than 53% in its sales of Civic and City. In the last seven months of FY 2019-20, the company’s sales for these cars have plunged by as high as nearly 66%. On the other hand, Honda BR-V suffered a drop of 32.5% in its sales last month, with 332 units being sold.
The overall sales of Honda Atlas went down by 51% in January 2020 only. Otherwise, the current fiscal year has recorded a drop of just above 64% in the auto maker’s sales.
Trucks & Buses sales:
In January 2020, 386 units of trucks sold out as compared to 537 units in the same period last year, down by just above 28%. Similarly, only 51 units of buses sold during this period as their sales dropped by more than 21%. The overall sales of trucks and buses recorded a drop of 27.4% in January 2020. In the July to January period, their sales went down by nearly 43% on year on year basis.
LCVs, Vans & Jeeps sales:
Both Fortuner and BR-V in this segment witnessed a significant drop in sales during the last month. A total of 482 units were sold in this segment during January 2020 as compared to 750 units in the same period last year. The overall sales in this category plunged by more than 35% during the last month and nearly 50% in the ongoing fiscal year.
Pickup sales:
The pickup sales comprise of four different vehicles in the local auto sector. The sales of Suzuki Ravi pickup were most affected in terms of percentage drop as it witnessed a nearly 56% decline in January 2020. Toyota Hilux contributed with 427 units as compared to 638 units last year.
JAC performed significantly well last month as its sales recorded a rise of nearly 300% from 25 units to 74 units in the previous month. Isuzu D-Max also improved its sales with 40 units sold in the period under review. Overall, the sales of pickups in the local sector went down by 45.6% in January 2020.
Tractor sales:
The sales of tractors were no different from the rest of the vehicles. Massey Ferguson once again led the sales of tractors with 1309 units, followed by Fiat with 882 units and Orient IMT with 22 units. However, the sales of all the above-mentioned brands dropped from 32% to 50%. The overall sales recorded a decline of 36.5% in this category, with 2213 units sold during the last month.
Motorbike sales:
On the other hand, the sale of motorbikes in the auto sector of Pakistan has started to gain momentum primarily due to the only affordable way of commuting for the mass market. The leading motorbike brands in the country, including Honda, Yamaha, and Suzuki, had an improved last month.
Atlas Honda sold 7 more units last month as compared to January 2019. A rise of 0.01% was recorded in its sales with 95,016 units. The overall decline in Atlas Honda sales in the ongoing fiscal year also decreased to nearly 4.5%.
Similarly, Suzuki Pakistan also sold 1876 units during January 2020 as compared to 1874 units in the same period last year, up by 0.1%. Yamaha has improved its sales further in the last month as it sold 2009 units in comparison to 1675 units in its corresponding period last year, increased by almost 20%.
Yamaha Pakistan is also the only motorbike manufacturer in the country whose sales have witnessed a 2% rise in the current fiscal year 2019-20.
Road Prince and United motorbikes are among the other high-selling brands in the country. Both of them sold 10,405 units and 25,331 units during the last month, respectively. However, their sales were still down by nearly 10% and 14% respectively. The overall sales of motorbikes witnessed a decrease of just 3.5% in the last month. The sales deficit during the July to January period currently stands at 9.5%.
Sales leader board of FY 2019-20:
Suzuki Alto still leads the way by a fair margin during the ongoing fiscal year 2019-20 with a whopping 25,452 units. It’s followed by the popular Toyota Corolla with 15,187 units in the second place. Honda Civic and City hold the third position with a combined sale of 8797 units in this period. See the top 10 selling cars in the table below:
That’s it from our side for now. Stay connected with PakWheels for more statistical updates related to the automobiles in Pakistan. Drop your thoughts in the feedback section.
