The President of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Majyd Aziz, has urged the government to halt the imports of used cars as this is detrimental to local industry in the long run.
He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of four-day international exhibition of 'Automobile, auto parts and accessories 2006', which took off here on Wednesday at Karachi Expo Centre. He said that the demand for cars in the country has gone up to around 0.5 million a year.
Although the growing demand for vehicles and extended delivery schedules had forced the government to allow import of used cars, he said he was personally against it, and urged the government to halt such imports as they were detrimental to the local industry in the long run.
He said that Pakistan auto parts industry has potential and skill to manufacture spare parts locally, and emphasised the growing need to speed up efforts for training and development of skilled labour to effectively man the increased manufacturing and allow re-export of locally assembled vehicles.
He suggested that the government should lower interest rates to make investing in Pakistan more feasible. He said that the exhibition would serve as a perfect marketplace for the engineering industry.
He was highly appreciative of Thai Auto Parts Manufacturers Association (TAPMA) and Pakistan Automotive Spare Parts Importers and Dealers Association (PASPIDA) for actively supporting the event.
Also present on the occasion was Joompol Manaschuang, Consul-General of Thailand, whose seven companies are participating in the expo. He complimented the Government of Pakistan for its efforts in making Pakistan an effective region for business.
Though, he said, Pakistan's perception in the eyes of Thai businessmen was not very positive in the past, the consistent economic policies of the present government had helped in altering this perception as more than 10 Thai companies were present at AAPP 2006. A large assortment of automobiles and auto parts and accessories are on display at the exhibition, which is expected to conclude on December 9.