Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC), the assembler and seller of KIA cars in Pakistan, has announced that it is “fully booked” for Kia Stonic deliveries until September 2024.
The development comes after the company recently announced massive Rs1.5 million decrease in the price of its Stone EX+ in what it called a celebratory limited-time offer.
The company on Thursday said it had received “overwhelming response” from the customers towards the booking of KIA Stonic.
According to LMC, the deliveries of the Kia Stonic will start from May 2024, as per sequence. However, all bookings for deliveries in September 2024 will be accepted only on partial payments of Rs2.35 million.
Depending on the market response and stock situation, further orders for October 2024 and onwards delivery commitment would be entertained, with communication on that to be shared separately, the company said.
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LMC has announced a ‘price lock’ on orders booked on full or partial payment up to September deliveries. However, any change in duties, taxes, or levies imposed by the federal or provincial governments applicable at the time of delivery will be borne by the customer and recoverable from the customer by LMC before the delivery of the vehicle, according to the company statement.
Speaking to Business Recorder, auto sector analyst Usman Ansari noted that LMC had initially priced the Stonic hatchback highly, above Rs6 million, marketing it as a mini SUV (sport utility vehicle) to compete with C-segment sedans such as Corolla and Civic.
However, according to Ansari, it is now priced according to its actual category and will compete well, especially against the Suzuki Swift.
Following LMC, Pak Suzuki Motor Company on Thursday announced a price decrease of up to Rs710,000 for its Swift variants in a “limited time offer”.
“Keeping in view the prevailing market conditions and dynamics, we are pleased to announce the promotional retail sales prices of Suzuki Swift w.e.f. May 01, 2024,” read the company notice.
With the latest revision, Swift GL MT will now be sold at Rs4,336,000, with a drop of Rs85,000 from its previous price Rs4,421,000.
Ansari mentioned that while Stonic has better features than the City and Yaris, demand for sedans has a separate fan following due to practicality in terms of space.
He was of the view that despite a good look, Stonic falls short of the practicality that a sedan offers. He noted that the company had tried to market it as a mini-SUV for the city, but its lack of off-roading features couldn’t place it in the SUV category.
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Usama Rauf, auto sector analyst at AKD Research, stated that the recent price cut was well-received, positioning the car directly within the mid-level sedan category and offering more features than its competitors.
Rauf maintained that Stonic was poised to capture a significant market share in that segment, potentially compelling competitors to enhance features, introduce facelifts, or even reduce prices.
He said some automakers had already adopted defensive strategies with price reductions, particularly for mispositioned models, and others might follow suit, especially those facing low demand.