Auto sales in Pakistan plunge on supply constraints in September

• Unavailability of CKD parts, rising car prices drive sales downward.
• Auto sales decline by 7% in September on month-on-month sales.
• All companies except for Pak Suzuki Motor Company record decline.

KARACHI: Pakistani car sales, including sales of non-PAMA (Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association) members, have clocked in at 13,000 units, down by 51% in September 2022 against the corresponding period last year.

This comes amid escalating car prices, expensive auto financing and the low purchasing power of consumers.

“The drop was primarily due to the unavailability of Complete Knocked Down (CKD) kits which led to non-production days by auto manufacturers,” explained Sunny Kumar, Deputy Head of Research at Topline Securities.

Compared to the previous month of the same year, auto sales plunged by 7% in September 2022, taking car sales in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2022-23 to 34,472 units, down 50% year-on-year from 68,897 units in the same period of last year.

According to Topline Research, all companies reported a decline on monthly basis except for Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) whose sales were up by 52% month-on-month to 6,006 units in September 2022 due to low base as plant closure amid unavailability of CKD parts.

Honda Atlas Cars (HCAR) also recorded a decline of 29% month-on-month to 1,280 units in September 2022 led by a decline in sales of BRV by 79% month-on-month.

Indus Motors (INDU) posted a decrease in sales of 32% month-on-month to 2,617 units in September 2022. In comparison, total sales in August 2022 amounted to 3,876 units. Hyundai sales also decreased to 967 units in September 2022, led by a decline in Tucson sales by 62%.

Amongst tractors, Millat Tractors (MTL) recorded a decrease of 75% month-on-month and 72% year-on-year to reach a sales figure of 638 units due to the shutdown of plants for 23 days in September amid floods.

Al-Ghazi Tractors (AGTL) recorded sales of 1,511 units, up 6% month-on-month and down by 29% year-on-year, as per Topline Research.