KARACHI: Pak Suzuki Motors on Thursday announced to suspend manufacturing for three more days from October 24 to October 26, 2022.
Pak Suzuki further informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange that the State Bank of Pakistan’s import restrictions are preventing it from maintaining its output.
This isn’t the first time Suzuki has decided to shut down its assembly lines. For a total of 15 days in September and October 2022, Suzuki ceased production.
According to the company, on May 20, 2022, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) introduced a framework for prior permission for imports under the HS code 8703 category (including CKDs).
What led Suzuki to this decision?
Suzuki and other automakers need letters of credit to import auto parts, but the central bank is not approving them.
In order to put things into perspective, full knockdown kits (CKDs), which are essentially automobile parts built in Pakistan, are imported and used to make locally assembled cars. Numerous parts are manufactured domestically, but vital ones, such as the engine, and electronics, must be imported for automakers like Suzuki, Toyota, Honda, and others to manufacture and market cars.
The State Bank’s restriction on these imports has pushed Suzuki to half its production.
