Automark

Proton exports 794 cars in March – highest in 108 months

Along with the announcement of Proton’s March sales figures comes more good news for the national carmaker, as it has recorded a total of 794 vehicles exported last month, which is a 108-month high in exports for the company.

The 794-unit export figure achieved by Proton in March includes various models, and Pakistan was by far the largest export market for the company, with the country accounting for 690 units in that month. Local assembly (CKD) operations for the Saga in Karachi, Pakistan commenced in October last year.

Meanwhile, overall first-quarter export volume was 1,117 units, representing a 175% increase over the same quarter last year, said Proton.
Naturally, the Saga continues to lead the brand in sales volume with 6,422 units sold in March, which was also the model’s best monthly sales figure in nine years. This was better only in November 2013, when the Saga SV was on sale.

This meant that the Saga was not just the sales volume leader for Proton, but also the best-selling A-segment sedan overall in the country, according to the company. This brings the tally for total units of the Saga sold this year so far to 9,449 units. The next best sales performer is the X70 SUV, which sold 2,320 units in March and 4,238 so far this year.

Courtesy: www.paultan.org

Digital transformation means going toward paperless and introducing software and technology basis mechanism which optimize the process, inautomotive industry the transformation is artificial intelligence which helps to identify recurring patterns in the production process, based on the data collected in real-time, to support continuous optimization, and to gain a clearer picture of the entire manufacturing process.In the automotive industry, the biggest change that has already occurred as a result of technology is that of independency in the system, process and operations. Manufacturers are in the process of developing self-driving cars on a larger scale. Companies in the automotive industry have been using robots on assembly lines to increase their productivity. Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers. This is also a cultural change that requires organizations to continually challenge the status, experiment.
The great use of digital technology is to provide online customer support. For example, automobile dealerships that use online to offer their products directly to customers. Whether it’s automobiles, car components, or even accessories. Mechanics now use technology to implement an innovative diagnostics process that simplifies everything. There are now automotive diagnostics tools used to check the cause of any damage through a car’s master computer. This has done away with the need to open the hood of a vehicle to locate the source of a problem. OEMs and their suppliers can also use digital transformation to examine their processes and identify what changes they need to make in order to bring these new products to customers.Within couple of years, the automobile sector will see the creation of a separate digital, connected supply chain. It is essential for all stakeholders in the industry to digitally manage the business by creating an intelligent and digital supply chain.

Digital Transformation:
If we discuss only a digital transformation it means the upgradation of the existing processes or the introduction of new ways of carrying out business activities using digital technologies that enhance productivity rate and customer’s experience leads to higher conversion rates for the company, in simpler terms, digital transformation means redefining business processes in this new digital period. Now that we’re clear with what digital transformation entails, let’s learn what a digital transformation in the automotive industry and which areas is to be focused in transformation process, impact on customer services &challenges and problems faced in transformation revolution in automotive sector. The automotive sector has already embraced digital transformation in its design, manufacturing process, distribution, and finally retail, there are numerous excellent examples of digital transformation, ranging from product innovation, operational changes to customer-facing changes. Here we discuss the main areas of automotive sector which is basic need to digitalized and revalued organization.

Process Transformation:
As the name suggests, this approach hones in on how the business runs day by day the collaboration of your brand’s people, processes, and applications. In the digital transformation world, it refers to transforming the business processes, services, and models your company uses by introducing technology that can leverage the skills, successes, and opportunities of your team. Process transformation gives finite activities—such as data and analytics—new ways to retrieve and process information.
Business Model Transformation:
A business transformation should always be a step in the right direction for an organization. As such, this organizational change could be sought with the aim of capturing a new segment of the market, adding commercial value to the business, improving production efficiencies, or maximizing human capital, means incorporating technology because it will drive revenue and improve the customer experience, rather than just implementing technology for technology’s sake. Model transformation looks at the infinite possibilities of businesses. Think of how Netflix transformed from a mailbox DVD business to the streaming service it is today.

Organizational Transformation:
The formulation of an organizational transformation management strategy is a critical component of any modernization program and involves a systematic approach that supports both the organization and the individuals in it to plan for the change and then accept, implement, and benefit from the change.
Different people use different systems; getting everybody on the same page and willing to accept big changes can be challenging, but it will be worth it if your brand delivers an overall better outcome to your customers.
Domain Transformation:
Domain transformations occur when one business is able to slide into another area successfully. Amazon, for example, added its own streaming platform (Amazon Prime), as well as Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is now the largest cloud computing/infrastructure service. Both of these domains were formerly dominated by major players in their respective areas, but Amazon’s financial backing enabled it to make huge headway when entering these new-to-the-company markets.

Take away from this article:
An automobile is such an industry that is attracting and maintaining the focus of customers are one of the biggest challenges faced. Therefore, since it’s harder to maintain personal relationships with customers digitally, another problem arises.But you can overcome most of these challenges by adopting the right digital transformation tactics.The automotive industry is facing a paradigm shift with intelligent and data-driven operations across the business, including, production, supply chain, sales & marketing, and after-sales services. The industry needs to accelerate digital transformation with a clear focus on integrated systems solutions, data management, and analytics to create value from data. There are several technologies, such as automation, advanced robotics, machine vision, IoT, data management & analytics that will enhance operations across the value chain.

Exclusive written for Automark Magazine,
By Muhammad Rafique, Head of Production and Maintenance
Foton JW Auto Park (Pvt.) Limited

From early 90’s till 2015, automobile industry of Pakistan was in the state of Neurasthenia “Three Bigs” were controlling the market and industry. Previous Government of PML (N) headed by Nawaz Sharif introduced first ever long term auto policy for five years in 2016. This policy usually referred as new auto policy 2016-21.

The introduction of this policy has changed the horizon of automobile industry and market in Pakistan. The salient features of this policy were to create highly competitive environment, minimize costs, technological improvements satisfy all stakeholders including automobile users, create balance between tariff growths and curb the monopolistic environment which was artificially created by existing players.
Last but the most important is to attract the new investors. There are two categories of new investment as per this policy. First one is “Category A” named as the Greenfield Investment. This category calls for the installations of new automotive facilities by an investor for the production of automobiles those are not being assembled or manufactured in Pakistan.

Second one is the “Category B” named as the brown field investment. This category calls for revitalizing existing assembly and / or manufacturing facilities i.e. either not operational or closed since and before July 01, 2013 and the make is not being produced in Pakistan since then. Furthermore policy allowed the duty free import of plant and machinery to set up an assembly and manufacturing unit. The new investor shall also be permitted to import 100 Units of vehicle in CBU condition on 50% less duty for test marketing.

Fortunately a good response was received from the new investors and many companies approached to BOI / EDB for setting up new automobile plants in Greenfield category these investors were ready to set up vehicle plants of different origins which includes
KOREA,CHINA, MALAYSIA, GERMANY and FRANCE
Up till now following brands have shown interest and most of them already started production and marketing of their products in Pakistan.
1-KOREA
A – HYUNDAI–Hyundai Nishat Motor (Pvt) Limited.
B – LMC previously KIA– Lucky Motor Corporation
2-CHINA
A-UNITED–United Auto Industries
B-PRINCE / DFSK–Regal Automobiles Industries Ltd.
C-FORLAND–Foton Jw Auto Park (Private) Limited.
D-MG–MG JW Automobiles Pakistan Pvt Ltd.
E-CHANGAN–Changan Pakistan
F-MUSHTAQ–Khalid Mushtaq Motors
G-HAWAL/BJ40–Sazgar Engineering Ltd.
H-CHERRY–Ghandhara Nissan Ltd
I-ZOTYE–Rafiq Habib Private Ltd
J-PROTON–AlHaj Automotive

3-GERMANY
A-WOLKSWAGEN–Premier Motors Ltd

4-FRANCE
A-RENAULT–Al – Futtaim Automotive
B-PEUGEOT–Lucky Motor Corporation

Korean players proved to be more serious for entering in Pakistan market and they started their local production within two years. They are now competing the old “Big Three” specially in mid range SUV they are giving tuff time to the old players.
Two Chinese brand, assemblers, Regal and United are also started the CKD operations in the early stages. Regal introduced their 800CC Car, the CKD is from China and DFSK brand SUV and they are selling a handful volume all over Pakistan.

Upon start up their production capacity was limited and tentative deliveries of vehicles were stretched up to five months but they are very serious player and enhanced their production capacity on war footing basis hence now their
delivery time is 30 – 45 days.

However united remains contented selling their vehicles in Punjab only. JW Forland China is a commercial vehicle producer in China. They also started a joint venture with “Hire” fame Afridi Group and busy in production and
sale of Forland Brand commercial vehicles. Their assembly plant is in Lahore.

Khalid Mushtaq Motors who planned to market it vehicles under the brand name of “Mushtaq” under an agreement with an associate company of “Changan Group” China had established their plant in Nooriabad. However company is not able to market its product and looking for a potential buyer of its plant.

MG JW Automobiles Pakistan Pvt Ltd., is also an Afridi Group Company. They started marketing and sales of MG SUV with great pomp and show and recently The British High commissioner to Pakistan, Dr. Christian Turner visited the MG facility in Lahore. The visit was a festive and exciting event where the High Commissioner interacted with the company’s leadership, visited the state-of-the-art MG assembly plant, and got to test drive the all-electric Marvel R and HS PHEV.

However they started CBU imports in bulk by paying normal custom duty. In the meanwhile due to hike in dollar rupee exchange rate and change in custom duty rate, MG was forced to increase their imported CBU prices more than one time. However recently company announced that their CKD assembly plant is completed and they fully geared up to start CKD operations.

Changan is one of the big Chinese automotive brands. They joined hands with Master Group. Now they have introduced their different variants in Pakistan market.

Recently company officially introduced Changan Oshan X7 SUV as Pakistan’s first Euro-6 vehicle and this is Pakistan’s first global unveiling of a Right Hand Drive (RHD) vehicle, which is a significant milestone for the country’s auto industry, while Change will export this model of SUV’s to globally for the countries where Right Hand Drive (RHD) vehicles are using.

Sazgar Engineering Ltd is a market leader in three wheeler segment since last two decades. Now they established a four wheeler assembly plant in Lahore and had sign an agreement with Great Wall Motors China for the assembly of their “HAWAL” brand and with SAIC
Motors for BJ40 vehicles in Pakistan. Company already started local assembling of BJ40 while they will start local assembling of HAWAL SUV’s very soon IA.

Ghandhara Nissan Pakistan Cherry China has launched its SUV’s Cherry Tiggo 8 Pro recently. Cherry SUV’s are available for test drive and started local assembling at their assembly plant in Karachi.

Proton is a Malaysian brand and M/s. Alhaj Motors is their local partners they started booking of their two variants about one year back, one is PROTON X70 SUV and another is sedan car ‘SAGA’. Recently they have started CKD operation for the assembly of both variants’ locally.
Due to the Covid-19 lockdown in Malaysia and later some other domestic problems Proton Malaysia unable to provide CKD to Pakistan partner while assembly plant’s equipments and machinery also received very delayed.

According to recently press release by AlHaj Motors, “The restrictions imposed in Malaysia on business operating hours, social distancing, and interstate travel will be eased from April 1, 2022.

Al-Haj Automotive (Pvt.) Limited has already commenced the local assembly and deliveries of PROTON SAGA since November 2021. We would like to inform our customers that the supplies from Malaysia will be streamlined starting April 2022, enabling us to enhance the production of locally assembled SAGA and start mass production of PROTON X70.

Al-Haj Automotive (Pvt.) Limited has been assembling and ‘delivering’ Proton Saga locally since November 2021. The delivery schedules of locally assembled PROTON X70 will be informed to our PROTON dealers by next week. PROTON customers are requested to contact their respective dealerships for the delivery schedule of PROTON X70 starting next week.

Premier Motors Ltd of Pakistan is the local partner of the German Auto Giant Volkswagen Group. They are establishing car assembly plant in Hub industrial area of Baluchistan. The construction is underway and hopefully be operational in mid 2023. Volkswagen Group is planning to assemble “SKODA” and Volkswagen brand vehicles in this facility.

The French automaker Groupe Renault and Al-Futtaim sign agreement to assemble and distribute Renault vehicles
in Pakistan on 19th November, 2017.

On 20th June, 2018 they jointly started the construction of plant in Faisalabad. Before that Renault and Al-Futtaim was trying to join hands which was not materialized. However after Al-Futtaim – Renault joint venture Renault announced that the vehicle production will start by 2020. Unfortunately Pakistan has some issues with French Government regarding Islamofobia and group was also concern about the economic instability of the country. They became uncertain to start its operations. Resultantly they abandoned it operations in 2019.

Surprising in the same circumstances the second largest French automaker Peugeot a member of Group PSA entered in Pakistani arena and became the first European origin brand, assembled in Pakistan. Now they are exclusive partner of Lucky Motor Corporation Pakistan. Lucky Motor Corporation is a Younus Brothers Group Company which are already assembling Kia brand vehicles. They introduced first variant in Pakistan just in March this year which is a SUV.

The above mentioned all companies has got green field status. One company i.e Dewan Farooq Motors got brown field status. They signed a joint venture agreement with Kolao Group of Korea and started the production of Daehan Shehzore Dual – Wheel. They also announced that in near future they will start assembly of SUV TIVOLI of Sangyong brand. Unfortunately company shut down its production in Oct, 2019 and still closed.

There is no doubt auto policy 2016-21 provided a new bloodline to Pakistani auto industry and new entrants provides more choices and options to the end customer. But due to high inflation rate still customers are unable to get an entry
level car on affordable price tag.

This exclusive article has been written by Anwar Iqbal and published in Automark Magazine’s printed edition of April-2022

5S stands for sort, set in order, shine, standardize and sustain

5S describes how to organize and layout a space for maximum efficiency and effectiveness by identifying, sorting and storing the items used, and maintaining the area and items to help sustain the newly organized areas.

The principles of 5S were developed by the Japanese. It is believed that man has been following basic principles of 5S for centuries in many cultures. 5S describes how to organize and lay out a space for maximum efficiency and effectiveness by identifying, sorting and storing the items used, maintaining the area and items to help sustain the newly organized areas. The basis for 5S lies in Kaizen, or the process of continuous improvement.
Minimizing wasted movements, wasted space, wasted time, waste in general, quality and efficiency will improve. From the minute we wake up every morning, we begin a process in our daily routine – that we follow almost every day. Without even realizing it, we are following a standardized process.

What does 5S stand for?
Sort. Get rid of clutter. Separate out what is needed for the operations and remove the unneeded components.
Set. Set in order, or organize the work area. Make it easy to find what is needed. A place for everything, and everything in its place.
Shine. Clean the work area. Make it shine.
Standardize. Establish schedules and methods of performing the normal tasks of the operation in general, and the process of cleaning and sorting.
Sustain. Implement programs to sustain the gains through involvement of all employees from every level.

Benefits OF 5S implementation. Successful implementation and execution of the 5S principles in various organizations results into several benefits as mentioned following:

1. Clean and Pleasant Environment: 5S creates an organized and clean environment. Employees love to work in a clean and pleasant workplace.
2. Self-Discipline: Employees acquire self-discipline, they need to maintain the standards (put the tools pack in their positions, daily cleaning, Regular Audits, etc).
3. Identify and Eliminate Wastes: 5S would bring a lot of wastes to the surface (Overproduction, excess motion, etc.) Employees can start reducing the wastes and improve the Productivity
4. Create More Space: removal of unwanted items and organizing the necessary materials release space. We have found 5S releasing around 10% to 20% more floor space in most of our engagements.
5. Identify Abnormalities: Oil Leaks, Air Leakages and Vibration of machines can be identified easily and fixed immediately.
6. Identify issues in the flow of the materials: Shortage of Parts, Line Imbalances, excess inventory etc. would come to light once we implement 5S.
7. Improvement in Safety: 5S helps in creating a safe workplace by reducing accidents caused by Slippery floors, eliminating oil leaks and creating visual indicators.
8. Improves Machine Uptime: By following daily cleaning and fixing the abnormalities, the breakdowns of the machines would significantly reduce. From our experience we have found more than 60% reduction in breakdowns after 5S implementation.
9. Improves Quality: By making the workplace visible and clean, the overall quality improves as defects cannot be hidden. Defects starts reducing and improvement in First Time Acceptance (FTA) would improve.
10. Improvement in Employee Morale and Positive Attitude: 5S creates a positive attitude and starts a culture change in the company. Employees starts owning the workplace and their machines and they have a sense of belongingness to the company.

CONCLUSION
Continuous improvements have become especially important in the related South Asian market for past decade. The 5S system is a good starting point for all improvement efforts aiming to drive out waste from the manufacturing / services process and ultimately improving a company’s bottom line production by improving products and services and lowering costs. Successful implementation of 5S methodology has found increase in productivity and hence profit levels. The secondary benefits of implementing 5S methodology included higher enthusiasm and punctuality among the workers and safer working conditions. There is also great scope for improving this methodology. Now, the 5S concept is converting into a 7S Methodology. There has been an ongoing discussion since past couple of years whether to add „Safety‟ and „Security‟ as the two new S‟s or not. Therefore, we can say that this methodology is still evolving and a lot of innovations to implement this methodology would be introduced in the coming years.

This exclusive article bas been written by Aqeel Bashir and published in Automark magazine’s printed edition of April-2022.

BACKGROUND
In order to improve the traffic culture of Pakistan, the National Highway and Motorway Police (NHMP), recently launched an advanced training course with the collaboration of Automotive Design and Crashworthiness Research on the modern methods of crash investigations at NHMP Training College, Sheikhupura for its master trainers and senior most field officers.

The training encompasses the most modern methods of crash investigations including digital forensics and wreckage forensics.This is expected to help the investigation team to identify, inspects, analysis, and preserves the digital evidence contained in various types of electronic devices.

Crashes repeat themselves! It is often observed that history is inevitably prone to repeat itself, careless drivers are involved in repeated crashes. Until and unless all factors are not thoroughly investigated and preventive safety measures on the road, vehicle and users are not taken, they are bound to happen again and again. Proper meticulous crash investigations hence become paramount in the greater interest of public safety on the roads.

In the last 2 years, Pakistan lost 28,612 precious lives in COVID-19 Pandemic. In the same duration, Pakistan lost nearly 70,000 equally precious lives in traffic crashes. While there are immense measures and precautions being taken regarding the covid-19 prevention where the world has revolutionized over this time period, crash deaths still take the back seat in our priorities.

A paradigm shift is needed: The National Highways and Motorways police has not only been a trendsetter in changing police culture but also been a torchbearer in road safety. The department is distinguished and lauded for its professionalism, dedication and honesty. Since the inception NHMP is an icon of excellence due to its commitment and devotion to ensure safety on roads.

About the advance crash investigation course
Advanced Crash Investigation Course is such a good initiative to ensure safety on roads.
NHMP in this regard collaborated with ADCR team to conduct training on Advanced Crash Investigation at NHMP training college, Sheikhupura. The training was the vision of Mehboob Aslam,DIG/Commandant, NHMP training College and Naseem Abbas, DSP training. In these 4 days of training, the top field formation of NHMP were taught new techniques regarding the crash investigation by the ADCR team under the supervision of Dr. Omer Masood Qureshi. Training consisted of many new techniques such as speed estimation methodology, clock point diagram, tire failure analysis, etc.

This joint initiative by NHMP and ADCR will prepare the officers for responding to potential crash investigations on spot. Such training is important in order to cope up with the pace of the modern world. Like NHMP, Pakistan’s other safety institutes and transport companies should also take such initiatives so that roads and vehicles can be made safer for people to use. Constant efforts are required to push our boundaries otherwise we will be left behind in this race to achieve excellence to provide a safe and secure road usage environment for all road users.

This exclusive report published in Automark Magazine’s of April-2022

It seems that the policy on the import of used cars now needs a change as the government is yet to realize that new vehicles’ imports have taken over the used car imports.
Gone are the days when used cars used to dominate the official data of completely built up vehicles. Since the announcement of incentives under Auto Policy 2016-2021, the import data has been flooded with the imports of new cars and other vehicles in the last two years.
New entrants were allowed to bring 100 units of each new model which they planned to introduce in Pakistan under new auto policy but the policy incentives were grossly misused by some new entrants by bringing huge volumes to cash on huge demand especially jeeps and SUVs.
As a result the import data of overall cars swelled by 68 per cent in 7MFY22 to $196 million from $116.6 million in the same period last fiscal.
However, the import bill for completely and semi knocked down (CKD/SKD) kits in 7MFY22 is far higher than CBU imports. Import of CKD/SKD kits rose by 105 per cent to $960 million from $468 million in the same period last fiscal.
Imports of parts and accessories will continue to show rapid growth as assemblers have been holding back huge orders which will keep their plants’ production capacity in full swing in upcoming months thanks to arrival of new models of Honda City in August 2021, Honda Civic in March and Suzuki Swift in March followed by huge bookings in hands.
However, curbs on auto financing by the banks and increase in prices after imposition of federal excise duty (FED) may keep demand a bit depressed in coming months. Auto financing ending January 31, 2022 came down to Rs 352 billion showing 0.4 per cent drop month on month as against 34 per cent rise year on year.
The stock of auto financing plunged after continuous increase since July 2020, an analyst at Arif Habib Limited said.
The strict rules and regulations on used car imports announced a few years back had, however, succeeded in curbing the imports but the pressure on foreign exchange reserves was taken over by massive imports of new vehicles by the new entrants.
Imported used cars brought by overseas Pakistanis through proceeding realization certificate (PRC). The overseas Pakistanis give proof that they have been staying for the last over six months in the foreign country. The resident Pakistanis remit the amount in the account of blood relative to pay taxes and duties of the imported cars which has been sent to the government’s revenue department.
Market sources said that if the overseas Pakistanis do not transfer more than two billion dollars every month then the big five assemblers in Pakistan cannot make cars as they are dependent on the arrival of dollars from overseas Pakistanis as it is a major source of foreign exchange to run their families. However, the industry utilizes this dollar by taking loans from the banks which are being sent by the overseas Pakistanis.
A bottleneck is being created as the government and the customs departments are creating hurdles in clearance of used cars and vehicles. In case the influx of dollars from the overseas Pakistanis face any suspension, then the entire chain of local assembly will collapse, said Mohammad Sabir Shaikh, the auto industry expert, chairman APMA and chief coordinator Pakistan Japanese Used Cars Importers Council (PJCIC) through PRC.
He said the government should now think about the policy of used car imports as new as well as old assemblers had imported sizable volumes of new vehicles to test the market and luckily they received a good response.
However, to keep the competition alive, the government should consider relaxing rules and regulations for the import of used small cars of 660cc especially as the consumers had lost a wide range of choice in small cars after massive slowdown in their imports as compared to three to four years back.
Coming on two wheelers, he said Yamaha Motorcycle Pakistan Limited has come out with the first increase in prices of their models in 2022 by Rs 11,000-12,000 effective from the second week of February 2022.
He feared more price shocks in two wheelers in the short run as assemblers would offset the impact of high input costs followed by rupee depreciation against the dollar that had increased the landed cost of imported raw materials.
Sabir said more assemblers are likely to follow the suit as soaring cost of production has already caused alarm bells for them.
He attributed price hike in bikes to weakening rupee against the dollar, rising plastic and steel prices and record high freight charges, energy cost etc.
Data of Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) shows impressive bike sales from 2016 to 2018, which fell in 2019 followed by a further drop in 2020 due to closure of markets and industries. However, buyers returned to the markets in FY21.

Sale of Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha stood at 798,657, 21,240 and 14,038 units in 7MFY22 as compared to 732,041, 12,682 and 12,654 units in the same period last fiscal, up by nine per cent, 67 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

Sales of Chinese bike assemblers like Road Prince and United Auto Motorcycle plunged by 30 per cent and 27 per cent to 63,286 and 168,546 units as compared to 89,855 and 230,370 units.

As per data of Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM), overall bike production in July-December 2021-2022 fell by 4.4 per cent to 1.189 million units as compared to 1.243 million units in the same period last fiscal.

Sabir said recently Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha have increased their market share against cheap Chinese two wheelers. The segment has seen growth during the last 20 years, growing from 86,000 units in the financial year 2000-2001 to 1.9 million in the financial year 2021, numbers quoted by PAMA members. The government officials have put the total bike sales at 2.6 million in FY2021.

He said PAMA data does not reflect a clear picture of bike sales due to a limited number of members including some Chinese bike assemblers.

Sabir was a bit angry in saying that a number of low income group people are unable now to own a bike due to the meteoric price hike in Chinese bikes as they cannot afford at a time when a sharp jump in food inflation and utility bills have restricted them to easily purchase a two wheeler.

On the contrary, he said sales of costly Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha have been showing rising trend from the last year, taking their market share up to 65 per cent as against 35 per cent share of low cost Chinese bikes.

People, who previously opted for four-wheel, have been forced to go for a two-wheel owing to surging car and fuel prices, APMA chief said, claiming that even the people with cars buy motorcycles to save their fuel consumption.

Branded companies with the help of banks have started selling their bikes on zero per cent market for a particular period. Suzuki had already been offering financing facilities at very good prices and zero percent mark up through their own outlets.
Amid high petroleum prices, Sabir said booking of new cars has been going strong as lack of an effective public transport and rail systems will keep cars’ demand upbeat.

He said bikes can still be termed as the best option at a time when fuel prices are likely to further creep up amid increasing crude oil prices in view of the intense war between Russia and Ukraine.

“In absence of reliable public transport, I don’t see car demand would even budge, no matter where the fuel cost goes,” said Sabir. “People would always need to travel for work notwithstanding the price of petrol.”
He said any further jump in petrol and diesel prices are unlikely to have a negative impact on car sales since people do not have any instant options like electric vehicles and efficient public transport systems.
Higher fuel cost wouldn’t impact auto sales as the current volumetric growth was mainly driven by rural and corporate clientele.
“The consumer base perceives high fuel cost as a temporary phenomenon, whereas automobiles are considered to be a moving asset,” he said.
“We can expect a shift within segments as consumers may move down from higher to lower ones, but overall demand is highly likely to remain intact,” Sabir said.

Sabir was of the view that high fuel cost has forced a number of motorists to become bikers.
“Car owners are buying motorcycles to cushion the fuel price shock,” he said and claimed as a result the sales of Japanese motorcycles recorded a notable increase.

However, rising fuel, food, and overall inflation weighed on the demand for cheap Chinese bikes.
“We are seeing sales of Chinese motorcycles dropping and many bike makers are on the verge of shutting down their operations,” he said.
Sabir said the government must come out with some incentives for the Chinese bike assemblers as many of them have been struggling for their survival owing to continuous drop in their sales.

He urged the government to provide some duty and tax incentives to the low cost bike buyers who are now unable to purchase two wheelers after finding difficulties in meeting their food and utility budgets. At least, some incentives would help them cut down the transportation expenses which they have been paying in public transports where fares have also gone up.

This exclusive article has been published in Automark Magazine March-2022 printed edition

For the very first time, PEUGEOT launches operations in Pakistan through its exclusive partner Lucky Motor Corporation

Partnership to facilitate the creation of state-of-the-art assembly facilities to boost employment, localization and local automotive industry in Pakistan

The first step of the partnership will begin with the introduction of the locally built PEUGEOT 2008

Karachi, March 12: European automotive manufacturer, PEUGEOT, has officially launched operations in Pakistan for the first time in its distinguished history with its exclusive partner Lucky Motor Corporation. The partnership commenced with the opening of eight 3S dealerships in six cities, as well as a state-of-the-art facility for the assembly of cars in Pakistan.

Lucky Motor Corporation is a subsidiary of the Yunus Brothers Group, and has a legacy spanning over five decades, thanks to its robust and aggressive approach gaining considerable market share in the Pakistani automotive industry, and setting new benchmarks in terms of product offering & customer service. With the introduction of PEUGEOT, the company now aims to provide the best mobility solutions the European Brand can offer its customers.

PEUGEOT is an inventive brand that has been a pioneer in the automotive industry for over 211 years guided by its brand values; Allure, Emotion and Excellence, which represent sharp design, intuitive driving pleasure and uncompromising quality. With its entry into Pakistan, these values will be upheld as the brand strives to provide the market with the latest innovations and mobility solutions.

Linda Jackson, CEO of the PEUGEOT Brand, said: “We are delighted with this partnership and what it means for the Pakistani market. This will be the first time a European car is assembled in Pakistan and we are excited to work with Lucky Motors to support employment, localization and the local automotive industry in the country. Internationalization is a key focus for PEUGEOT, with the B and C segment SUV growth representing a great opportunity for us. This is also bolstered by the evolution of the legislation of the country towards electrification which is in line with our own strategy.”

Samir Cherfan, Chief Operating Officer, Middle East & Africa Region, Stellantis, said: “We are excited to embark on this journey in Pakistan with our new partner, Lucky Motor Corporation. We see tremendous potential and opportunity for PEUGEOT in Pakistan, and are looking forward to serving customers in this exciting market. I would like to also take this occasion to thank Mr Muhammad Ali Tabba and Mr Asif Rizvi for making this partnership possible and I am looking forward to witnessing the growth of both parties in the country.”

Asif Rizvi, Cheif Executive Officer, Lucky Motors Company, said : “Lucky Motors is set to change the automotive landscape of Pakistan by introducing Peugeot, the first locally made European brand in the country. We are very excited to partner with Peugeot and look forward to being associated with Stellantis, a company that strongly believes in futuristic mobility solutions.

Pakistan, with its 220 million population, offers a great opportunity for someone to come in and disrupt the automotive market. And we have no doubt that the Stellantis with its 14 brand portfolio, will be the one to do so. Lucky Motors is proud to become the first company in Pakistan to have multi-brand manufacturing and dealers. We are delighted to embark on this adventure, bringing with it the best automotive solutions, while also making meaningful contributions and investments that will support economic and social development in Pakistan.”

The first step of this ongoing commitment to the Pakistani customer will begin with the introduction of the PEUGEOT 2008. The lauded 2008 has been a success story for the brand since its development and stands apart in the compact SUV segment with its distinctive design, advanced technology and efficient powertrains. It also benefits from The PEUGEOT i-Cockpit, which features a stimulating interior design along with a state-of-the-art digital cluster and touchscreen that amplifies any driving experience. With 26 international prizes, including the Red Dot Design Award, and its perceived quality and value, the 2008 is the perfect model for Pakistani families.

The e-2008 will be the next model launched, giving customers the freedom to choose between a 100% electric and a thermic version, thanks to the Multi Energy platform CMP. Together, with support from PEUGEOT, Lucky Motors Corporation will assemble various models locally at state-of-the-art facilities, and is currently exploring opportunities to distribute multiple models by early next year.

To find out more about PEUGEOT’s operations in Pakistan, please visit: (www.peugeot-luckymotorcorp.com)