Mansoor Sadiq

Changan Alsvin, setting a precedent for car assemblers in Pakistan, has decreased the prices of its products including Oshan X7, Karvaan and Alsvin up to Rs200,000 to attract customers facing inflationary pressure with limited offer. On the other hand, all leading car manufacturers in Pakistan including Honda, Suzuki and Indus Motor have announced that they increased the prices of their cars up to Rs300,000.

The year 2022 brought many challenges for the automotive industry in Pakistan, as the prices of automobiles witnessed enormous increase following the unprecedented devaluation of Pak rupee against US dollar. Changan has announced that customers who are going to purchase any of its products including Alsvin in January 2023 will get specially designed refunds to off-set post-purchase costs.

In a public survey conducted by PakWheels, a leading online marketplace for car shoppers and sellers in Pakistan, Changan Alsvin has been rated as one of the aspired and fuel-efficient sedans in Pakistan. The survey also rated Changan’s vehicles at top slot. Changan’s Oshan X7 was ranked as the most loved SUV (sport utility vehicle), while its Alsvin was rated as the most fuel-efficient sedan in Pakistan. Similarly, Changan’s Karvaan has been ranked as the most loved MPV (multi-purpose vehicle) in Pakistan.

Changan has announced incentives to its customers and special prices for January 2023 with New Year Offer as follows: Rs250,000 rebate on M9 Sherpa and Karvaan (standard grade), Rs175,000 rebate on Karvaan (plus grade), Rs200,000 rebate on Alsvin (all grades), Rs160,000 rebate on Oshan X7 (all grades), in addition to free one-year insurance and Rs30,000 accessory voucher. Although Changan is new to Pakistan, it owns a long history and is one of the leading domestic automobile brands in China for the last 12 years. In FY 2022, Changan achieved a sales volume of over 2.346 million units worldwide.

In contrast, Suzuki Motors has announced an increase in its car prices by Rs115,000 to Rs335,000 on account of rising cost of production. The new price of Suzuki’s least expensive car Alto VX from January 25, 2023 is Rs1.859 million after an increase of Rs160,000. The prices of Suzuki Swift has been raised by Rs335,000 to Rs4.115 million. Suzuki Wagon-R’s different variants have also been raised by Rs208,000 and Rs257,000, and Cultus prices by Rs285,000 to Rs335,000.

Meanwhile, Indus Motors, the assembler of Toyota vehicles in Pakistan, also announced an increase in the prices of its entire line-up ranging from Rs210,000 to Rs280,000. The prices of Corolla 1.6 CVT have been raised from Rs4.979 million to Rs5.369 million. The prices of Toyota Yaris 1.3MT are up by Rs280,000, from Rs3.539 million to Rs3.819 million.

Meanwhile, Honda Atlas raised prices by Rs550,000 citing exchange rate and material cost inflation. The prices of Honda City Variants have been raised up to Rs300,000 to Rs330,000, and the new price of City Mt 1.2L has been increased to Rs4.069 million from Rs3.769 million. The prices of City Aspire MT 1.5L increased from Rs4.139 million to Rs4.449 million, while the prices of Honda Civic variants increased by Rs500,000 to Rs550,000. The new price of Civic 1.5L LLCVT increased from Rs7.549 million to Rs8.099 million.

Abdul Waheed Khan, office bearer of Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association, told WealthPK that the prices of all the variants of cars in Pakistan have increased due to rising input costs and inflationary raw materials, shipping charges and devaluation of Pakistani rupee. He said Pakistan’s automotive industry depends on imported raw material to assemble cars. With increase in taxes and raw material cost, the prices of vehicles increase in Pakistan.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk