The 2.1M workforce you mention is people who are related to the car industry and not directly emplyed by the big 3,
even toyota Pakistan has only 2855 employees directly working for them,
the rest are related to the industry in services and franchises and around 2k SMEs which make some parts for these cars.
Most of them will still be there even if cars are imported, in countries where imports are allowed and not culled by huge taxes a lot of extras are added when the vehicle arrives at the importer.
I am all up for setting up assembly plants in Pakistan, but the way we are doing it is absolute bananas. Why do we want a company to absolutely setup an assembly? If the policy has any brains it can ask them for investment in an auzillary segemnt, like a testing ground with labs, or OEM parts manufacturing etc but thats a long and rather unfruitful discussisn here.
The big 3 will only packup if they dont ready themselves to the test of future. If people still want to buy cars when they leave, their void will be filled by someone else. none is indespensible.
Armagedon scene; lets say big 3 leave and kia, hyundai & changan are kidnapped by MG and it is the only carlord left and just import cars and sell them. People will still need their cars maintained, if MG wont make a service center, someone else will start doing it.
Kia has proved what a good strategy is and they have started taking in people from a lower spectrum via picanto and are engaging higher and middle spectrum via their suvs and MPVs. That is good business where they will be turning buyers into brand followers, they have showcased a testing ground albeit small but it is a big step fpr pakistan, unlike the big suzuki, whose vitara is 6.5 freaking million and they upped the APV price by one mil. you think that is what we should be thankful for so they wont leave us? Is accepting these prices enough or do we also have to bend over?
