KARACHI: Car sales have registered a massive growth of 57.46 percent during the first eight months (July-February) of the current fiscal year 2021-22 owing to macro-economic recovery and launch of new models.
According to Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), total car sales increased to 149,813 units during the first eight months of the current fiscal year as compared to 95,139 units sold in the same period of the last fiscal year.
On a month-on-month basis, the sale of passenger cars witnessed a rise of 6 percent in February, clocking in at 18,054 units as opposed to 16,985 units sold in January 2022. On a year-on-year basis, car sales surged one-thirds when compared to 13,570 units sold in February 2021.
According to PAMA data, the total production of passenger cars was recorded at 18,263 units in February 2022. The less than 1000cc category took a lead as auto sales were recorded at 8,245 units within this category. Segment-wise, Suzuki Alto recorded the highest sales at 7,175 units, followed by Suzuki Bolan which sold 1,070 units in the said month.
The second-highest number of sales was made within the 1300cc and above category at 6,471 units. Within this category, Toyota Corolla and Yaris registered sales of 3,646 units. Honda Cars (Civic and City) recorded sales at 2,286 units. This was followed by Hyundai Elantra and Hyundai Sonata which sold 312 and 226 units, respectively.
The ‘1000cc’ category took the third spot as the units sold during the month of February were 3,338. Suzuki Cultus recorded sale of 1,692 units, followed by Suzuki WagonR which sold 1,646 units.
Meanwhile, the sales of trucks witnessed a 27 percent MoM decline in February 2022 to stand at 501 units, compared to 690 units sold in the previous month. Isuzu emerged as the best-selling truck, with sales of around 276 units during the month, followed by MASTER with 124 units. HINO and JAC made sales of 84 units and 17 units, respectively.
Similarly, the overall sale of buses also fell by 49 percent MoM during the review month to clock in at 45units. Within this segment, Master made the maximum sales at 35 units while HINO recorded sales of 10 units.
Cumulatively, total sales of trucks and buses during the month clocked in at 597 units against the production of 546 units while sales of two and three-wheelers were recorded at 136,527 units.
According to the data, LCVs, vans, and jeeps observed sales of 3,610 units, showing a marginal drop of 0.4 percent MoM during the period under review.
Analysts attributed the surge in car sales to macro recovery and single digit interest rates. They said that the decline in MoM sales is due to high base and pre-buying in anticipation of price increase by auto-assemblers.
