Economic Crisis? Rs. 259billion Worth of Cars Imported in Just 6 months
Pakistan, a country facing a serious economic crunch and battling to save its precious foreign exchange, has spent $ 1.2 billion (Rs. 259 billion) on importing cars and other vehicles in just six months. The imported transport items include luxury cars, high-end electric vehicles, and spare parts.
CBU/CKD Imports
According to a media report, the country has imported completely built units (CBUs) and completely knocked down/semi-knocked down units (CKD/SKD) worth $530.5 million, which is equal to Rs. 118.2 billion. Although the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) banned the import of CKD kits by not issuing Letters of Credit (LCs), such kits costing multimillions of dollars are being imported, directly affecting the local industry and their production.
CBU units of buses, trucks, and other heavy vehicles worth $75 million (Rs. 166.6 billion) were imported, while the cost of motor cars was $32.6 million. Under the CKD/SKD imports of buses, trucks, and other heavy vehicles, the imports were $772.5 million (Rs. 161 billion), while the motor car imports were recorded at $498 million (Rs. 111 billion). Last but not least, motorcycles worth $27.6 million were imported during this time period.
The parts and accessories of these vehicles cost $188.6 million (Rs. 42 billion).
Imports in December
The report mentioned that only in the month of December, the imports of the transport sector stood at $140.7 million (Rs. 31.6 billion). Out of this, $47.5 million (Rs. 11.3 billion) have been spent on car imports, $27 million on parts and accessors, $3.6 million on bikes, and $ 25 million on buses, trucks, and other heavy vehicles.
It is pertinent to mention that, despite the weak economic conditions, the government has allowed the import of luxury cars, including electric ones. Per experts, it is one of the primary reasons for the outflow of dollars from the country.
In other reports and data, despite the ongoing economic crisis, the country’s elite class has imported luxury cars, including Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes, and e-tron. Other import numbers show that 43 luxury and 18 heavy bikes were imported in December 2022.
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