Auto sales suffer massive fall of 66% YoY to 9,211 units in March

Pakistan’s auto industry reported car sales of 9,211 units in March, 62% higher on a month-on-month basis but still 66% lower compared to the number in March 2022, according to data shared by Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA).

Topline Research analyst Sunny Kumar said in a report that “the month-on-month increase in sales is primarily due to availability of completely knocked down (CKD) parts amid easing of letter of credit (LC) issues”.

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Pak Suzuki reported a significant increase in sales – 475% higher compared to February 2023. However, with 5,628 units being sold in March, its bookings were still 63% lower than same month last year.

JS Research analyst Wasil Zaman said in a report that “with foreign exchange reserves at critically low levels leaving little room for improvement on the supply side for auto manufacturers, we expect cumulative volume decline during fiscal year 2023 to clock in at over 50% year-on-year, which will extend to first half of the fiscal year 2024”.

Toyota also reported a 6% month-on-month increase in sales with 1,912 units sold. However, the sales were 73% lower than same month last year.

Honda Atlas reported month-on-month and year-on-year decline in sales by 49% and 77%, respectively, as it sold just 835 units in March 2023. The company’s plant remained closed for 23 days in the month due to CKD issues.

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Hyundai sales also declined on both month-on-month and year-on-year basis, reporting declines of 34% and 36%, respectively. The company sold 836 units during the month.

The sales during the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal year amounted to 110,405 units, which was 46% down year-on-year.

“The decline in sales is primarily attributable to non-availability of CKDs, escalating car prices, expensive auto financing, and low purchasing power of consumers in the ongoing fiscal year so far,” Sunny Kumar added.

Bike sales in the country were down 18% month-on-month and 44% year-on-year in March. Atlas Honda recorded a 16% month-on-month and 38% year-on-year decline with 71,827 units sold in the month of March.