LAHORE – Total used car imports have crossed the production numbers of some Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in Pakistan.
More than six thousand used cars were imported in the financial year 2022-23, with more than 1,200 units being imported only in May and June this year.
“This situation at the time of import control measures is beyond understanding,” said Chief Executive Officer Indus Motor Company Ali Asghar Jamali while talking to a group of journalists in Lahore.
He said that the day-by-day increase in the imports of used cars has been severely impacting the already under-stressed local auto industry.
CEO IMC said that the situation was also nullifying the plausible localization achieved by the local auto industry.
“In the presence of minimum foreign exchange reserves held by SBP, the government should discourage import of used cars and encourage local production,” he suggested.
He said that the growth of the auto industry, is essentially linked with a properly designed planned import policy, and it can never be achieved in the presence of imports.
He added that IMC has been continuously investing and despite registering a 55% reduction in production, they have not gone for any layoffs.
“The local auto industry has been facing the issue of LCs for quite some time, making it difficult for the industry to maintain its sales,” he said, adding that IMC faced a 58% decline in its volumetric sales from January to June 2023.
Talking about Hybrid Electric Vehicles, IMC CEO said that Pakistan is one the worst victims of climate change as according to the Global Carbon Budget 2022 annual CO2 emissions in Pakistan stood at 229.51 million tons in 2021, which was 9% higher than 210.38 million tons in 2020.
“Therefore, HEVs are the most sustainable solution to the country’s economic problems, as it would help achieve macroeconomic goals, employment generation, exports boost, and imports reduction as well,” he opined.
He said that HEVs are the most logical option to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in fossil fuel-reliant countries like Pakistan and India, which have 62% and 75% share of fossil fuels in their energy mix respectively.
“Toyota has made an investment of $100 million to produce HEV vehicles in Pakistan and Corolla Cross, Pakistan’s first locally manufactured HEV SUV, is to be launched soon,” he revealed.
He said that the adoption of hybrid technology will also result in the reduction of import bills, as 30 thousand units of HEVs will save around $37 million per annum.
