Pakistani auto industry has gone rogue. The famous car makers have started a bizarre practice of booking thousands of cars and taking advance payments from customers. Some are even doing it without even declaring the official price of the vehicle (Hi Honda, sorry not sorry!). Such practices have left the consumer vulnerable to scams. We have always called out the auto manufacturers in Pakistan for their actions. Finally, someone from the media channels has frowned upon the matter of advance bookings.
Recently, Nadeem Malik — a famous journalist, media personality, and the President of SAMAA TV — posted some bold comments on his Twitter account. In short, he called the car makers in Pakistan thieves and a mafia.
The plunder never ends here. Same mafia then suggest let’s import old cars to meet demand. The junk is imported & sold in the name of Japanese cars.
Mafia pockets the money twice. Importers & Assemblers both oblige the officials & ministers, who also lobby for it. @ImranKhanPTI— Nadeem Malik (@nadeemmalik) June 5, 2021
Malik criticized the automakers for running organized plunder (dishonest acquisition of property aka robbery). He said that these car assemblers take hundreds of billions in advance and then forget about making the deliveries of these booked vehicles for months. He also said that the officials and ministers are a part of this plunder.
Continuing the discussion in another tweet, Malik said that the same mafia is importing junk of old cars and selling them to consumers in the name of Japanese vehicles.
Malik then tagged the official Twitter account of Prime Minister Imran Khan in his last tweet.
Late Car Deliveries in Pakistan
Many car manufacturers in Pakistan are suffering from the wave of late car deliveries. Suzuki, MG, Prince DFSK, Changan, KIA, and Hyundai have issued official notices to inform their customers about the late delivery of their booked vehicles. It’s the same story with all of them. The aftermaths of the global COVID-19 pandemic are hitting these companies hard. The international shortage of semiconductor chips is one of the main factors.
It’s true that auto manufacturers, not only in Pakistan but all over the world, are facing challenges due to the global pandemic. Late car deliveries are one of these challenges. However, with the COVID-19 situation going on for over a year now, the companies must have foreseen these circumstances. Still, they are frequently opening and closing the bookings for their cars and making late deliveries. Plus, Nadeem Malik’s point that if bookings were made at 1% of the price, and 99% was paid on delivery, the companies will provide cars within days is valid. Why would the companies care about the consumers when they take millions in advance for each booking? Of course, they will sit back and relax with billions of rupees in their pockets.
What do you think about the dilemma of advance bookings and late deliveries in Pakistan? Let us know in the comments.
