Indus Motor Company (IMC), the assembler of Toyota vehicles in Pakistan, has once again announced that it will shut production citing inventory shortages. This time production will be suspended from September 28 to October 09.

The automaker shared the development in its notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday.

“Based on current level of inventory of manufactured vehicles, the company has decided to close its production plant from 28 September 2023 to 9 October 2023 (both days inclusive),” the company said in the PSX statement.

“In case of any change in plan will be updated accordingly,” added the company.

This is Indus Motor’s eighth announcement of production closure this year. Earlier, the company announced a complete shutdown of its plant last month from August 25 to September 06 citing inventory issues.

The country’s auto sector, hugely dependent on imports, has been hit hard by the government’s decision to curb imports and restrict issuance of LCs. Additionally, higher finance cost and massive increase in car prices have also reduced demand from consumers.

“In fiscal year 2022-2023, due to challenging economic environment, low consumer purchasing power, and increase in duties and taxes by the federal government, the demand for auto sector has continuously declined,” Indus said last month.

Auto sales in Pakistan were 36% lower on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in August.

“Escalating car prices, expensive auto financing, and the low purchasing power of consumers are among the primary reasons for the decline in YoY sales,” brokerage house Topline Securities said.

As per Indus Motor’s latest financial statements, the company posted a profit-after-tax (PAT) of Rs9.66 billion in FY23, a decrease of nearly 39% as compared with earnings of Rs15.8 billion in the same period of the previous year.