Islamabad, Mar.16 (INP): With eye-catching designs, luxury amenities and affordable prices, Master Changan Motors (MCM) assembled vehicles, have gained a foothold in Pakistan's automotive market.

According to Gwadar Pro, Pakistan's Master Group and Changan carmaker from China in a joint venture established the MCM in 2017 in Karachi.

Changan chose Pakistan to assemble right-hand-drive vehicles and shortly took big leaps into the Pakistani automotive market.

Presently, the annual production capacity of the plant is 30,000 units. Changan has 20 dealerships around the country.

The Changan Khyber Motors dealership was established in Peshawar in mid-2019.

“Despite corona pandemic, we have sold around 300 units of Changan in 2020,” Mansoor Khan, Sale Executive MCM Peshawar told Gwadar Pro. “The way potential customers are coming to the dealership, I expect Changan cars and pickups to get a major share in KP’s auto market very soon,” he said.

Mansoor Khan said that Changan Alsvin, the 'smart' sedan has taken the automotive market by surprise. When MCM opened pre-booking, according to him, 17,000 units of Alsvin were booked in a very short period.

“Changan Khyber Motors had 55 units of quota in Alsvin, which was pre-booked in just 36 hours,” he added.

He said that Alsvin contains Euro-5 engine, which is introduced for the first time in Pakistan. "The Bluecore Technology engine of Changan offers both efficiency and environment friendliness," Mr. Khan said.

Muhammad Shah, who has pre-booked Alsvin sedan, said it was truly the smartest choice in this category of cars.

“The main competitive advantage of Alsvin is its price, which is almost equal to the price of a used Japanese hatchback car,” he said.

“It is up to the customer to buy a new luxury car or a used car with fewer options for the same price,” Shah said.

Interactions with different drivers in Peshawar revealed that Changan M9 and M8 are popular and demanding mini-loaders in KP. Both are powerful light trucks with good cargo capacity and fuel average.

"The vehicle comes with a powerful engine and above all it is fuel-efficient," said Ijaz Ahmed who owns M9 PICKUP. He said drivers could open all three sides of the M9’s bed, which is quite handy during loading and unloading.

It is the level of his satisfaction that Ijaz Ahmad has pre-booked KARVAAN MPV Plus, the mid-sized van for his family.

Eng. Muhammad Arif, who runs an automobile workshop at Ring Road Peshawar, told Gwadar Pro that selling 300 units in a year is a big achievement for Changan in KP.

He said that the majority of people in this region opt to buy second-hand imported cars, however, Alsvin has the potential to challenge the status quo.

Changan, which means 'lasting safety' in the Chinese language, is one of the top automobile groups in China and a top-selling domestic Chinese automotive brand.

INP/javed