Pak Suzuki Warns: Tariff Cuts on Used Car Imports Could Wreck Local Industry
Pak Suzuki has raised a red flag over proposed tariff reforms and relaxed rules on used car imports, calling the policy “unsustainable” and “potentially catastrophic” for Pakistan’s local auto sector.
Pak Suzuki’s Stance
Media reports revealed that at a press briefing in Lahore, Suzuki’s Managing Director Hiroshi Kawamura, alongside senior officials, laid out the company’s concerns. Executives said imported used cars already make up 25% of market share while local manufacturing facilities are running at just 40% of their capacity.
No serious car-producing nation allows this kind of import flood, further policy shifts in this direction could wreck local production and lead to widespread job losses. “We’ve built this from the ground up over four decades. Tearing it down now would be a major mistake,” the company warned.
Key Updates
Accordingn to the media repirts, while Suzuki welcomed the National Tariff Policy 2025–30’s focus on reducing raw material costs, it made clear that tariff cuts on finished vehicles were a different matter.
- Pak Suzuki opposed tariff cuts on CBUs, warning that cheaper finished imports would undercut local assembly and threaten long-term growth.
- Cultus and Wagon R will be phased out, with new-generation replacements under development as part of Suzuki’s broader product upgrade.
- A new SUV is in the pipeline, with a trial launch expected soon. Suzuki says it’s part of an effort to expand the lineup while keeping cars affordable.
Localization, Pricing & Supply Chain Health
Suzuki highlighted its supply chain, saying it works with over 100 local vendors and buys more than Rs. 50 billion worth of local parts each year. These vendors also supply other automakers, creating a broader industrial base.
The recent launch of the Suzuki Every as an example of successful localization. They also confirmed that the Suzuki Ravi will be relaunched following the redesign of the Bolan. The company said the current tax burden accounts for 40% of a vehicle’s retail price, making it difficult to reduce costs or add new features without pricing out buyers.
Reports disclosed that Pak Suzuki’s focus has always been affordability. That means cutting excess, using local parts, and sticking to what the customer needs.
EVs Not Feasible Yet, Hybrid Coming Soon
Kawamura acknowledged the global shift toward electric vehicles but said Suzuki Pakistan is not yet in a position to make that leap. “EVs require infrastructure, and this is a long-term play. We’re watching the space but not moving just yet,” he said. Instead, the company is developing a hybrid vehicle that fits the local market, with launch plans to be announced soon.
Note: To verify these updates from local media, we reached out to the company’s officials, who neither confirmed nor denied the information.
What are your thoughts on the recent briefing, particularly about the SUV, expected hybrid vehicle, and the retirement of the Cultus and Wagon R? Share your views in the comments section.
A few questions that need clarification by Suzuki or by all three Japanese assemblers:
“…local manufacturing facilities are running at just 40% of their capacity….”
Why are they running at 40% capacity? Is it the country’s fault? Is it because of the high prices? Maybe its time to lower them.
If assembly plants are running at 40%. Why not use the rest of the assembly capacity to get into the export market and export the excess capacity?
Why are cars STILL only SOLD in the country after 40 YEARS of operations in Pakistan?
Isn’t 40 YEARS enough time for these companies to at least get into exporting their excess assembly capacity?
In 40 years, India not only established its auto industry but became a major exporter. And much more than that China in the same period became a world power in the automotive sector manufacturing and technology.
Vinfast, an automotive company from Vietnam, got the tooling for old GM cars from the US in the late 2000s, indigenized them, and within ten years not only made their own cars but made EVs and exported them.
Pak Suzuki meanwhile stopped assembly of the 1L alto because they could not get parts from abroad because parts for the very old car were no longer made anywhere in the world! They stopped assembly of the Mehran and recently the old bolan and now soon the ravi for the same reasons. Too old and no parts available anywhere in the world for import. Why has Pak Suzuki not tried to at least completely localize these old cars in Pakistan?
Which cars, assembled by pak Suzuki locally, are affordable for the majority of Pakistanis? The only option rammed down people’s throats is the very overpriced and underpowered and under equipped Alto. So, to save their profits on that one pittance of an offering, they want to close down an important source of tax revenue for the nation. PW itself has reported in the past on how the tax paid on the imported vehicles (when imports were relaxed) was far greater than the tax paid by the local assemblers combined.
Pak Suzuki might be sharing “100 local vendors” with the other local assemblers, however the people of Pakistan relay heavily on markets like bilal Gunj or Shoba etc in almost every major city of Pakistan to not only keep their imported cars running but also to keep their local assembled cars running with the ever famous “kabli parts”. Because their quality is far better and are more affordable.
These markets are the life blood of Pakistan’s auto industry and have supported it since before the hijacking by the Japanese assemblers. The financial importance and job creation capacity of these markets combined is, I believe, far more than what the local assemblers claim they themselves contribute.
And finally, YES, these companies are 40-year-old assemblers! When all specialized parts such as engines, gearboxes/transmissions, electronics etc. are ALL imported: meaning the majority of the COST of the car is imported regardless of what percentage of the parts are localized, IT IS A LOCALLY ASSEMBLED VEHILCE!!!
In forty years of operation, why didn’t they localize 40-year-old cars such as the Mehran, Bolan Ravi or the 1L (old) Alto or the 1L (old) Cultus and keep them completely local as cheap options for the masses instead of phasing them out?
isn’t 40 years enough to at least completely localize the production of 40-year-old cars?!
Isn’t 40 years enough to at least get their excess assembly capacity sold on the export market?!
If they cannot even do such simple tasks, what DID they “built from the ground up” in over four decades?!
Lastly, Suzuki Swift, Vitara, S-Cross, Ertiga, Ignus, Dzire etc are just some of the cars that have Hybrid systems. Which ones are capable of coming here at an affordable price?
This Kawamura guy is really trying hard to shove the gaslighting Kawa down our throats.
The government is also using the import policy all wrong. The current government is desperate for tax revenue but it is squandering the import policy’s potential for true tax revenue collection.
The tax policy, the import policy, the EV policy and the auto policy if done right can be so cohesive with such obvious tweaks. Too bad our dear leaders and policy makers are blind to what’s right in front of them.
In my opinion the main thing ot reduce the prices of Cars, will be the key to increase the sale and that should not b less than a million.
Suzuki has laready incresed prices for their vehicles without any features and comfort.
Govt. Should take serious action againt the local manufacturers to make their products affordable for economical people who i think are the 50℅ of the population, which will increase their sales also.
Govt. Should make a chart or sops for the cars as follows.
660cc up to 2Million
660 to 1000cc 2.1 to 3.1 Million
1000cc to 1200cc 3.1 to 3.9 million
1200cc to 1400cc 4.0 million
And from1400cc to above as according to the above mentioned chart.