In a major development for Pakistan’s automobile sector, Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited, a subsidiary of Japan’s Honda Motor Co., has officially started exporting Completely Built Units (CBUs). The first shipment, consisting of 40 Honda City cars, has been exported to Japan, according to a statement by the Ministry of Industries and Production.
This marks an important milestone for the local auto industry, which has historically focused on assembling cars for domestic use rather than producing vehicles for global markets.
Speaking at the export ceremony, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar Khan praised the efforts of the company. “The hard work and dedication of Honda Atlas is commendable,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s auto sector is now ready to emerge on the global stage. He also mentioned that this achievement aligns with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision of driving economic growth through exports.
A Shift Towards Exports
Until recently, Pakistan’s automobile sector has largely depended on importing parts and assembling vehicles locally. Companies like Toyota Indus Motors, Honda Atlas, and Pak Suzuki have dominated the local market. However, this trend is beginning to change.
In July 2023, Toyota Indus Motors exported 50 units of popular models, including the Fortuner, Corolla Cross, and IMV series, to other Toyota-affiliated companies. Similarly, Hyundai Nishat recently announced the export of Santa Fe Hybrid CBUs to Sri Lanka, highlighting their commitment to international standards and government policies.
Changan Pakistan also made headlines in 2023 by exporting a batch of 14 Oshan X7 SUVs to Kenya and Tanzania, becoming Pakistan’s first volume exporter of technologically advanced SUVs.
The Challenges
Despite these positive steps, the auto sector still faces issues like high production costs, unstable exchange rates, and supply chain disruptions. However, the government has reiterated its support through favorable policies to help manufacturers enter international markets.
Encouraging more companies to follow suit, Haroon Akhtar emphasized that increasing exports will lead to industrial growth and economic stability.
As local car manufacturers begin making their mark globally, do you think this could be a turning point for Pakistan’s economy?
This story has been making rounds on all the written news sites. Unfortunately no clarification has been provided regarding the purpose of the exports. And again unfortunately PW has also not provided any clarity either.
The Honda city we have here is the 6th gen from 2013 which was replaced by the 7th gen in 2019 in the rest of the modern world. So the main question arises; what does Japan want with a stripped out, bare bones 12 year old model of a car that was actually sold in Japan as the Honda Grace and came fully loaded with a lot more tech and had a hybrid model as well? 🤔 We have enough of those (Honda Grace) running around in Pakistan as JDM imports. A better buy and a better deal than the Pakistan version any day!
As for the other local companies and their “exports”. Toyota exported 50 cars in 2023. Changan exported 14 cars in 2023. 2023 was TWO YEARS AGO!!! what have these companies done since then?! 🤷♂️
In TWO YEARS, most countries which are serious about their auto exports, export thousands of vehicles; the government and auto sector working together to make it happen for the good of the nation.
However, unfortunately in Pakistan, what these companies have done is exported a grand total of around 100 cars IN TWO years. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry or be embarrassed by all this. 😲🤦♂️🤯
This seems a case of ‘Topi Drama’. The companies get their moment in the spot light, the Politicians get their good optics, the media gets a vague story and all of it is forgotten the next day. Or until the next round of elections come around when politicians will make a vague reference to such “grand feats” to bamboozle their voting base.
What would have been refreshing to see would have been our dear leaders standing there and asking these companies point blank “why such low export numbers by THREE major companies IN TWO YEARS?!” what is going on here?!”
Japan doesn’t need such low-quality vehicles. It’s just a topi drama to increase the goodwill of Honda Atlas. Even in Pakistan, we consider the City a low-quality car with a high price