Indus Motor plans $335m investment over next five years

ISLAMABAD: Indus Motor Company plans to invest $335 million over the next five years, Chief Executive Ali Asghar Jamali said at an event marking Toyota’s 35 years in Pakistan.

Speaking at a ceremony held at the company’s manufacturing plant at Port Qasim, Jamali said Toyota had already made direct investment of $736 million in Pakistan over the past 35 years. He said the planned spending would take Indus Motor Company’s cumulative investment beyond the $1 billion mark, making it the first automotive company in Pakistan to cross that level of investment in the country’s auto sector.

Jamali also outlined the company’s fiscal contribution, saying it had paid about $6.3 billion in taxes to the national exchequer over the last three and a half decades. According to him, that amount represents around 1% of the government’s total annual tax collection.

At the same event, he said the company’s dealer and supplier network now supports more than 55,000 jobs across its value chain. He added that local parts manufacturers provide over Rs210 million worth of components every working day for the production of Toyota vehicles in Pakistan.

Referring to the company’s localisation efforts, Jamali said the Make-in-Pakistan drive had helped prevent an outflow of $6.5 billion in imports through local manufacturing and import substitution.

Company history and production growth

Indus Motor Company was incorporated in 1989 as a joint venture between the House of Habib, Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation. The company manufactures and assembles Toyota vehicles, parts and accessories in Pakistan.

Jamali said the company was marking a long record of manufacturing, localisation and contribution to the domestic automotive industry, adding that more than 1.2 million vehicles had been sold nationwide since operations began.

While addressing the ceremony, he recalled the company’s early years and its expansion in production capacity over time. "The company has also contributed approximately $6.3 billion in taxes to the national exchequer over the past three and a half decades, accounting for around 1% of total government tax collection annually," he said.

He also said the first Toyota Corolla assembled in Pakistan nearly three and a half decades ago is still preserved at the company’s headquarters. According to Jamali, Indus Motor’s annual manufacturing capacity has increased from 5,000 vehicles at the outset to 76,000 vehicles a year at present. "We are celebrating a legacy of manufacturing excellence, localisation, and sustained contribution to the country's automotive industry, with over 1.2 million vehicles sold nationwide since the start of operations."

The ceremony at Port Qasim was held to commemorate Toyota’s 35-year presence in Pakistan, with the company highlighting its investment record, tax payments, employment footprint and localisation efforts during that period.