Automobile industry in Pakistan
Encyclopedia
The Automotive industry has been an active and growing field in Pakistan
for a long time, however not as much established to figure in the prominent list of the top automotive industries. Despite significant production volumes, transfer of technology and localization of vehicle components remains low. Most cars in the country have dual fuel options and run on CNG
which is more affordable and cheaper than petrol in the country.
According to Ministry of Industries Pakistan produced its first vehicle in 1953, at the National Motors Limited, established in Karachi to assemble Bedford Trucks. Subsequently buses, light trucks and cars were assembled in the same plant. The industry was highly regulated until the early 1990’s. After deregulation major Japanese manufacturers entered in the market thereby creating some competition in this sector. Assemblers of HINO Trucks, Suzuki Cars (1984), Mazda Trucks, Toyota (1993) and Honda (1994) in particular, entered once deregulation was introduced. Assembly of Daihatsu and Hyundai cars (1999) and various brands of LCVs and range of mini-trucks commenced recently.
From 1953 to 2011 the journey of auto industry has been rough, tough and sometime very smooth. Car industry saw boom in 2006-2007 when sales touched record peak of 180,834 thanks to rising car financing up to 70-80 per cent by banks due to low interest rates and rising rural buying. Since then the industry has been surviving hard to reach the same sales level amid high interest rates and Yen appreciation against the rupee but high farm income is giving much support to car sales. Good crops this year will keep the car sales brisk despite increase in prices.
The car industry has invested over Rs 20 billion in the last four to five years to meet growing demand. The direct employment in car industry hovers between 5,500-6,000 persons.Motorcycle production hit the country’s record level of over 1.5 million units in 2010-2011 by the effort of Pervaiz Musharraf Government’s decision that opened bike market to low cost Chinese bikes.
Auto sector now employs 192,000 people directly and around 1.2 million indirectly and has Rs 98 billion of investments and contributes Rs 63 billion as indirect tax in the national exchequer.
Auto Sector remains the second largest payer of indirect taxes after the Petroleum Sector. In Pakistan's context there are 10 cars in 1,000 persons which is one of the lowest in the emerging economies which itself speaks of high potential of growth in the auto sector and more so in the car production. Rising per capita income with changing demographic distribution and an anticipated influx of 30 to 40 million young people in the economically active workforce in the next few years provides a stimulus to the industry to expand and grow. (Source AUTOMARK Magazine)
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
for a long time, however not as much established to figure in the prominent list of the top automotive industries. Despite significant production volumes, transfer of technology and localization of vehicle components remains low. Most cars in the country have dual fuel options and run on CNG
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...
which is more affordable and cheaper than petrol in the country.
According to Ministry of Industries Pakistan produced its first vehicle in 1953, at the National Motors Limited, established in Karachi to assemble Bedford Trucks. Subsequently buses, light trucks and cars were assembled in the same plant. The industry was highly regulated until the early 1990’s. After deregulation major Japanese manufacturers entered in the market thereby creating some competition in this sector. Assemblers of HINO Trucks, Suzuki Cars (1984), Mazda Trucks, Toyota (1993) and Honda (1994) in particular, entered once deregulation was introduced. Assembly of Daihatsu and Hyundai cars (1999) and various brands of LCVs and range of mini-trucks commenced recently.
From 1953 to 2011 the journey of auto industry has been rough, tough and sometime very smooth. Car industry saw boom in 2006-2007 when sales touched record peak of 180,834 thanks to rising car financing up to 70-80 per cent by banks due to low interest rates and rising rural buying. Since then the industry has been surviving hard to reach the same sales level amid high interest rates and Yen appreciation against the rupee but high farm income is giving much support to car sales. Good crops this year will keep the car sales brisk despite increase in prices.
The car industry has invested over Rs 20 billion in the last four to five years to meet growing demand. The direct employment in car industry hovers between 5,500-6,000 persons.Motorcycle production hit the country’s record level of over 1.5 million units in 2010-2011 by the effort of Pervaiz Musharraf Government’s decision that opened bike market to low cost Chinese bikes.
Auto sector now employs 192,000 people directly and around 1.2 million indirectly and has Rs 98 billion of investments and contributes Rs 63 billion as indirect tax in the national exchequer.
Auto Sector remains the second largest payer of indirect taxes after the Petroleum Sector. In Pakistan's context there are 10 cars in 1,000 persons which is one of the lowest in the emerging economies which itself speaks of high potential of growth in the auto sector and more so in the car production. Rising per capita income with changing demographic distribution and an anticipated influx of 30 to 40 million young people in the economically active workforce in the next few years provides a stimulus to the industry to expand and grow. (Source AUTOMARK Magazine)
Currently produced vehicles
List of currently assembled passenger vehicles (incomplete):- Honda CivicHonda CivicThe Honda Civic is a line of subcompact and subsequently compact cars made and manufactured by Honda. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in North America until the 1990s, when the model lineup was expanded...
(The international current generation Honda Civic with a 1.8 liter iVTEC engine) - Honda CityHonda CityThe Honda City is a subcompact car manufactured by the Japanese manufacturer Honda since 1981. Originally made for the Japanese, European and Australasian markets, the City was retired without replacement in 1994...
(The international current generation Honda City with a 1.3 litre iVTEC engine) - Toyota CorollaToyota CorollaThe Toyota Corolla is a line of subcompact and compact cars manufactured by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million...
(The international current generation Toyota Corolla with a 1.3 VVT or 1.6 liter Dual-VVT engine) - Suzuki SwiftSuzuki SwiftThe Suzuki Swift is a subcompact car produced by Suzuki in Japan since 2000. Prior to this, the "Swift" nameplate had been applied to the Suzuki Cultus in export markets such as Australasia, Europe, India and North America.- Predecessor :...
(A variant of the 2004-2010 international Suzuki Swift) - Suzuki Mehran (A very basic version of the Suzuki Alto CA71, with a 796 cc engine. As of 2011, the car still has a carburetor based engine.)
- Suzuki AltoSuzuki AltoThe Suzuki Alto is a small car designed by Suzuki. Its selling points include low price and good fuel economy. The model was introduced in 1979 and has been built in many countries worldwide.-1st generation :...
(The Suzuki Alto HA12 chassis fitted with a 1982-1984 Suzuki SJ410 970 cc engine. As of 2010, the Paksuzuki Alto still has a carburetor based engine.) - Suzuki CultusSuzuki CultusThe Suzuki Cultus is a supermini first presented at the 25th Tokyo Motor Show, formally introduced to the Japanese domestic market in 1983 and ultimately manufactured in seven countries across three generations and marketed worldwide under more than a dozen nameplates — prominently as the Suzuki...
(A basic version of globally retired Suzuki Cultus Generation 2 with a 993 cc engine.) - Suzuki Ravi (Pick-up version of the Suzuki Super Carry with a late 1970s era carburetor based 796 cc engine.)
- Suzuki Bolan(Van version of the Suzuki Super Carry with a late 1970s era carburetor based 796 cc engine.)
- Suzuki Liana (The Suzuki liana sedan with 1.3 litre engines with manual transmission only. Since 2007, Pakistan is the only place left where the Liana is being made and sold.)
- Nissan SunnyNissan SunnyThe Nissan Sunny is a small car from Nissan. It was launched in 1966 as the Datsun 1000 and although production in Japan ended in 2004, it remains in production today for the African, American and Sri Lankan markets. In the US, the later models were known as the Nissan Sentra; in Mexico, the Sunny...
- Diahatsu Cuore