Mansoor Sadiq

Following low sales in the current market year, Honda Atlas Cars Limited (HACL) has announced the launch of its first- ever hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) in Pakistan in the coming months, reports WealthPK. The company anticipates a significant rise in sales in the market year 2024 following the launch of hybrid cars. Taking to WealthPK about the designed specifications, features and space of the new HEV, Amir Raza, General Manager of Marketing at Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited, Lahore, said it seemed 2023 was the year of SUV but now is the time of HEVs. He said the specifications of the new HEV were in the process of finalization and it was likely to roll off the assembly line and hit the market in 2024. He said SUVs had been getting popular in Pakistan for the last few years.

The automobile sector has been going through a renaissance, as in the past three years, crossover SUV has become one of the popular vehicles in the country, he added. Nadeem Afzal, Manager of Sales and Marketing at Honda Atlas Company (Pakistan) Limited, said the banks were opening the LCs for the auto industry following the lifting of import restrictions, adding that the Honda car sales will witness a significant rise in the market year 2023-24. He expressed confidence that the government will not restrict automotive imports again. In the current year, Honda sold 25,726 cars compared to 37,613 in the market year of 2022. Following a rough year due to automotive import restrictions, the company seeks to improve sales in MY 2024.

It is also worth mentioning that Honda’s hybrid vehicle in Pakistan aims to compete with Toyota’s upcoming Corolla Cross hybrid. However, Toyota Pakistan hasn’t given any definite timeframe for the launch of its first locally assembled hybrid. The company has not revealed the hybrid model it plans to introduce; however, market insiders predict that it is going to be the HR-V hybrid the gasoline variant of which was launched by Honda Atlas late last year. Although there are hybrid variants of the City and Civic in the regional markets, it is still too early to speculate whether they will ever reach Pakistan.

Credit: INP-WealthPk