Car Sales Plunge by 53pc in FY20
The turmoil period for Pakistan’s automobile industry continues as it sees a 53 percent fall in car sales during Fiscal Year 2020. High-interest rates, devaluation of rupee against US dollar, and COVID-19 pandemic are some of major reasons for this sale decline.
PAMA Report:
According to a new report by Pakistan Automobile Assemblers Association (PAMA), the overall sales of cars fell to 110,583 units in FY20, comparing to 235,229 units in FY19. The report shows that Honda Atlas Cars faces the most significant decline of 63 percent. The company sold 16,390 units in ongoing year, while its last year’s sales were 44,234 units.
The report shows Suzuki Motors saw a decline of 49 percent in FY20. “The company sold 65,815 units this year, while its last year sale reached at 130,002 vehicles,” PAMA report added.
Meanwhile, Indus Motors sees a 53 percent fall in sales, with 60,993 vehicles previous year and only 28,378 units in ongoing fiscal year.
Motorcycles and Three-Wheelers:
Just like cars, the sales of motorcycles and three-wheelers also seen a sales decline on a yearly base. According to PAMA report, the sales saw a 23.11 percent fall in sales during FY20 from previous year.
The report stated that 1,370,005 were sold in FY20, while 1,781,959 units of two-wheeler and three-wheeler were sold in FY19.
Atlas Honda sold 873,902 units in the current year and 1,114,956 vehicles last year, seeing a 21 percent drop in the sales. “Yamaha Motors sold 23,610 units in FY19 and 19,371 bikes in the ongoing fiscal year, recording 17.95 percent sales fall,” the report said.
Meanwhile, Suzuki motorbikes saw a decline of 25.91 percent, with 17,301 units sold in current year, comparing to 23,352 bikes previous year. The report further said Ravi Motors saw a whooping decline of 54.35 percent, recording 27,125-unit sales in FY19 and only 12,380 in FY20.
The sales of three-wheeler Qing Qi dropped to 45.5 percent, with 23,661 sales last year and 12,893 vehicles during current year.
Month-to-Month Sales Jump:
However, the industry has seen significant sales jump on month-to-month bases. After easing in COVID-19 restrictions, opening of dealerships, and start of operations in local manufacturing companies, the sales market has shown signs of progress. The data shows a 77 percent hike in sales in June 2020, comparing with May 2020 sales.
According to the report, Honda sold 1,839 cars (both Civic and City) in June 2020 as compared to only 263 units in May 2020. Meanwhile, Toyota sold 855 Corolla cars in June, equating to only 294 in May, while 1,160 Yaris vehicles were sold in June, while 167 were sold in May.
Furthermore, 202 Suzuki Swifts were sold in June, comparing to 78 units in May. Moreover, 476 new Suzuki Wagon R cars hit roads in June, as compared to sale of 386 vehicles in May 2020. Interestingly, Suzuki Cultus show a decline in sales, as 830 units sold in June, while 922 cars of this model left dealerships in May.
Under 1000cc section, Suzuki sold 1,656 Suzuki Alto in June, comparing to 1,304 in its previous month. Surprisingly Suzuki Bolan also shows a fall in sales with 306 units in June and 386 vehicles in May. “Only 1 Suzuki Mehran was sold in the month of June,” the report said.
Jeeps and Double Cabins:
The jeeps and double-cabin vehicles also show a rise in sales on month-to-month bases as 78 new Toyota Fortuners are sold in June, comparing to only 14 in May, while Honda BR-V sold 164 units last month, comparing to 63 in May 2020.
Furthermore, 438 units of Toyota Hilux hit the road in June 2020 as compared to only 72 in its previous month, while Isuzu’s D-Max recorded sales of 207 units in last month and only 3 in the month of May 2020.
Tractors:
The sales of farm tractors have also seen a significant jump, with 5,314 units sale in last month, comparing to 1,851 in May. The experts believe that farmers, who held their purchases expecting a subsidy from the government, bought the vehicles after no such step was taken by the federal under the new budget.
Final Verdict:
Although the sales have declined on a year-to-year base, there is a ray of hope for the local automobile industry with a jump in month-to-month sales. We hope that this trend will continue and see more sales in the coming months.