Reference to a news item published in a section of the press, captioned "Reconditioned cars fail to woo buyers", there were some misleading facts and figures about the auto industry.
It was mentioned that "people are losing interest in imported used cars", but the fact is according to figures compiled itself by Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), and reported in several newspapers, a total of 155,514 cars were sold in 2005-06 as compared to 127,309 units in 2004-05.
It is a result of demand, triggered by the failure of local manufacturers to satisfy the customers. The import of used cars stood at 45,479 units in July-June 2005-06 as compared to 11,877 units in 2004-05.
Noticeably, the demand for imported used cars remained very large during the last fiscal year. It means that there is a big vacuum in the supply estimated at 30,000-40,000 units.
As far as over-supply is concerned, as mentioned in the report, Pakistan is an open economy and local traders in the market know very well the demand of old cars, this is why they are not importing over demand as they have to manage their finances.
Experts say that interest rates, although slightly higher than before, are still low enough to encourage car financing. Introduction of new models and overall economic growth have also boosted auto demand during 2005-06.
Increased economic activity, resulting in cargo movement of both import and export items in the country, has pushed up the sales of trucks (mainly Hino, Nissan, Isuzu and Master) to 4,273 units in 2005-06 from 3,345 units. Similarly, the sales of LCVs surged to 31,922 units from 25,056 units.
The local car manufacturers have made people suffer despite the conspicuous upsurge in both the local and imported production of the vehicles.
A number of customers have complained about the indifferent attitudes of these companies' customer services.
According to them, most of the time, these companies attempted to shrug the responsibility off their shoulders by giving various excuses instead of solving the problem.
In such a situation, the formation of a regulatory body is the need of the hour, commented another victim of the customer service department of a big player of the automobile industry. Due to the non-existence of a primary neutral regulatory body the issue has not been addressed effectively. Because lack of dependable action by the authorities, the matter no longer seems to have any effect that could lead to a solution.
Formation of such a regulatory body will not only boost the local industry but will help restore the confidence of the customers by ensuring proper-after-sales service.
Organising a regulatory body means a positive move to standardise the current status of the automobile industry and also forward proposals and initiatives in the future.
Meanwhile the customer's complaints and suggestions could be reputed which will definitely help to build consumer confidence.
As far as a campaign from local manufacturers against the imported used vehicles' quality, it is interesting to note that they mention it at a point of time when their own zero meter models are registering enormous complaints. (I am personally experiencing the same with a brand new local model of Japanese origin Toyota Corolla).
Competition in any section of the trade benefits the consumer who is supposed to be the prime concern for every company. However it has been observed that besides the telecom industry no other sector has given any relief to the consumers.