Isuzu’s Pakistani partner is definitely not bringing in Chinese SUVs to Pakistan

It started with just one article in a not particularly well-known publication.

INCPak, is short for the Independent News Coverage Pakistan, a news aggregator of sorts that started in 2012. A cursory look at its homepage indicates a lot of news about Pakistani celebrities and a significant amount of technology related news. It also has a dedicated section for automobiles. 

And on December 27, the website published the article: “Ghandhara Industries plans to introduce Chery Tiggo 8 in Pakistan.” The article went on to say that the Ghandhara Industries Ltd was to enter into an agreement with the China-based Chery Automobiles to distribute and manufacture its sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in Pakistan. 

The Chery Tiggo 8, is a seven-seater mid-sized crossover SUV, first introduced in 2010, and is popular in China. According to the article, the SUV would compete with other existing SUVs in the country, like the Hyundai Tucson and KIA Sportage. After providing details of the car’s features, the article innocently ended with “Tell us what you think of this upcoming addition of Chery Tiggo 8 in Pakistan?”

Well, we can tell you what Ghandhara Industries thought of this upcoming addition: that it was complete nonsense. According to a notice issued to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on December 31, the company had to explain itself to the PSX (which had enquired about the news on December 28). Ghandhara Industries has not, in fact, entered into any negotiations or contract written or otherwise with any company to introduce Chery Tiggo 8. 

“The media reports, including the news item in INCPAK are baseless and have no legal standing,” the company stated emphatically. 

One can see why the company had to issue a statement: in the few days since the article, the news had spilled over into multiple niche websites that cater to auto enthusiasts. But the letter only seemed to cause more confusion. That is because there were now other media reports that it was in fact Ghandhara Nissan that was introducing the SUVs, not Ghandhara Industries. 

But wait, are those the same companies? Why are there two companies called Ghandhara anyway? Is one a subsidiary of the other? Is Ghandhara Nissan even bringing these SUVs to begin with?

Let us try and parse who is who.