“On money” is the only culture hurting the local industry more than anything else. Low supply of vehicles, late deliveries, collecting excess orders to develop a long queue, and no guarantee of availability date and price after booking are among the issues this culture begets.
As per Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) research, “automobile consumers pay more than Rs. 35 billion as “ON money” over and above the price for express delivery of vehicles.”
Report further informed that car assemblers produce only 200,000 vehicles, whilst the capacity is 400,000 cars a year. The motive is just to collect the maximum amount of “ON money” by supplying less than market demands. Consumers have no voice in the system, left with no choice but to pay the extra money.
Interestingly, the game has been “ON” for the past 50 years. The Public Accounts Committee has raised the issue in its last meetings, but the cabinet and parliament have shown “zero” interest. No government, even the incumbent, has a regulatory policy.
Way Forward?
Here is what we can do to defeat the prevailing “ON money”, a black-market premium culture.
1- Advanced booking must have some basic rules, like;
- delivery time should not be more than a month at the cost of penalties
- No change in price after booking
2- Assemblers must operate at a minimum of 80pc capacity to ensure that periods of excess demand do not last for more than four weeks.
3- Companies should not be allowed to collect advance for booking of vehicles.
4- Disallowing the dealers to sale any vehicle that is not available at their dealership (dealers plays a key role in collecting “ON money”)
What do you think about the ongoing ON money culture and the points mentioned above to avert this trend? Drop your thoughts in the comments section.
