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Dewan’s New Daehan 2018 Shehzore Pickup launched in Pakistan

Dewan has launched new Daehan Shehzore 1.5-ton pickup at the Mohatta Palace Museum Karachi on 25th Febuary-2018, marking its return in the vehicle production market.

In the last decade, Shehzore was a famous commercial vehicle. In between 1996-2004, the third generation of Hyundai Porter or H100 was produced globally. Then now finally Shehzore is back with the fourth generation Porter. The pickup will have Deahan engine and will be quite similar to Hyundai H100.

Dewan Muhammad Yousuf Farooqui, Chairman Yousuf Dewan companies, Mr. Sei-Young Oh, Chairman & CEO Kolao Group, other team member of Kolao group from Korea, whole marketing and management team were also present at the occasion while Minister of Interior Mr. Ashan Iqbal was the chief guest of the event. All the prestigious guest from auto industry and business community was witness the launching ceremony.

The diesel engine of the vehicle is 2.6 liter. It comes with air-conditioning, stereo, power windows, power steering and much more.

The price of new 2018 Shehzore pickup in not announced yet. The expected price of the pickup is PKR 1799,000/- Under the Brownfield Category from Engineering Development Board (EDB) Dewan has received approval to start vehicle production in Pakistan.

After the Shehzore pickup is launched the company is ready to introduce Sports Utility Vehicle and passenger cars for the people. The return of Dewan Motors in Pakistan is in collaboration with and Laos-based Kolao Group, the agreement is with Daehan-Dewan Motor Company Private Limited.

In 2016 the news came that Dewan Farooque Motors Limited (DFML) is about to re-launch it’s popular and very successful medium-sized truck Shehzore and finally we have the news that Dewan Daehan Shehzore Pickup has launched.

 

GREE & Eco-Star are the main sponsors of Lahore Qalandars in PSL 2018

Lahore: 21st February, 2018 – Gree& EcoStar has recently become the title sponsors of ‘Lahore Qalandars’ – one of the best teams competing in Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 2018.The Lahore Qalandars team is led by legendary New Zealand Cricketer Brendon McCullum and consists of many other famous players. Official press conference and signing ceremony held at Dubai last evening. CEO Muhammad Farooq Naseem, COO Rizwan Butt and Director Zaka Naseem of Gree& EcoStar also attended Press Conference. They showed great support for team and wished captain for a great captaincy and advised other team players to promote true spirit of game and discipline.

Gree and EcoStar’s support is extremely valuable in promoting cricket in Pakistan with enthusiastic participation of international players. DWP group will continue to support many kinds of sports in the country. It wishes best of luck to the‘LahoreQalandars’. Gree and Eco-Star have a tradition to regularly participate in many vibrant social festivals, technology exhibitions and other social events, to introduce pioneering technologies and create awareness among the consumers all over Pakistan. As a large number of consumers and families will be excited to watch the matches at home or at the stadium, this initiative will contribute towards providing a healthy entertainment experience for the masses.

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Japan’s Honda to recall 350,000 cars in China over engine issue

Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T) will recall roughly 350,000 vehicles in China to resolve a cold-climate engine issue and quell a barrage of customer complaints that has hit the automaker over the past month.

The recall involves the CR-V sport utility vehicle and the Civic car equipped with a 1.5-litre turbo engine, Honda’s joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group Co Ltd (0489.HK) said in a statement on Monday.

The company is calling back those cars to resolve a problem caused by an unusual amount of un-combusted petrol collecting in the engine’s lubricant oil pan.

The issue in some cases caused a strong odor of gasoline inside the car and in other cases the car’s check-engine light came on. Honda and Dongfeng plan to resolve the issue by updating the engine’s gasoline injection control software.

Honda officials said there had been no reports of accidents. They said the engine oil issue doesn’t affect the engine or the car’s performance.

The measure comes after CR-V and Civic owners turned to the Weibo microblog – China’s Twitter equivalent – and other means to air their complaints since mid January.

The recall points to an emerging pattern in China where customer complaints spiral out of control as they are aired out on Weibo, forcing an automaker to respond.

Years ago the kind of recall Honda announced on Monday could have been dealt through a so-called customer service action, industry officials and experts say. That refers to what the auto industry calls a “quiet recall”, which is less damaging financially and image-wise, where an automaker fixes a non-safety issue, often free of charge, whenever the customer comes to the dealership.

“Without Weibo, it would have gone on for years,” said James Chao, chief automotive analyst for IHS Markit in the Asia-Pacific region. “That’s the way it was for the industry in the pre-Weibo, pre-Twitter era.”

Honda did not say the scale of the move in its statement, but a Beijing-based spokesman and other company officials said Honda and its joint venture partner are likely to call back roughly 350,000 vehicles. “We’re still trying to determine the precise number of cars affected,” the spokesman said.

Normally un-combusted petrol ends up accumulated in the lubricant oil pan but evaporates under heat from the engine. Such evaporated petrol is by design put back into the engine combustion chamber as fuel.

The issue involving the CR-V and the Civic has occurred in northern China where temperatures can dip well below the freezing point and when drivers of the affected vehicles drive short distances frequently.

On short runs, Honda engineers believe the engine doesn’t warm up enough to help un-combusted petrol accumulated in the lubricant oil pan to evaporate.

Source: REUTERS

 

Who is the actual owner of Hyundai H-100 in Pakistan Nishat or Dewan?

The ground breaking ceremony of the Hyundai – Nishat vehicle assembly plant at Faisalabad’s M-3 Industrial City took place in last December 2017. The local production of vehicles is expected to begin within two years. Hyundai – Nishat Motors signed an investment agreement with the Ministry of Industries and Production under the Automotive Development Policy 2016 – 21 in early December 2017 to set up a Green Field project to undertake assembly and sale of passenger cars and one-ton commercial vehicles.

The groundbreaking was performed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. The venture sees an investment of US $230 Million as the plant will initially produce 7,000 vehicles by 2020 and will enhance its production to 30,000 units by year 2023. Hyundai – Nishat intends to launch a range of vehicles from hatchbacks, sedans & SUVs to commercial vehicles. Three vehicles were displayed during the event, namely Hyundai Tucson, Hyundai H-1 van and Hyundai H – 100 pickup. (The latest version of Hyundai Commercial Pickup known as Shehzore in Pakistan).

On the other hand Dewan Farooque Motors Limited (DFML) is expected to resume vehicle production in Pakistan from February 2018 as it has received approval under Brownfield Category from the Engineering Development Board (EDB). Initially, the company will re-launch its popular Shehzore’s one-ton pickup trucks, which saw tremendous success in our market during the previous decade. Dewan also plans to roll out passenger cars and a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) after the re-launch of Shehzore.Dewan Farooque Motors is returning to the scene with a manufacturing agreement with Daehan-Dewan Motor Company Private Limited – a joint venture between DewanYousuf Companies and the Laos-based Kolao Group.

The above situation is very interesting and rather confusing for automobile industry because both companies will use Hyundai brand engines for their commercial pickups i.e. Nishat H–100 and Dewan’s  Shehzore. Our sources revealed that both groups, Nishat and Dewan are ready to fight each other on this issue. We tried to obtain official reaction / statement of both groups on this issue but failed. However we gathered some information through our own resources and would like to share with our readers.

Our reliable sources says that that expiry date of the agreement between Laos based Kolao Group and Dewan Group of Pakistan was 30th December 2017,which is already expired and Dewan Group can only assemble the CKD Kit which they have already imported and kept in to custom bonded warehouse. The quantity of these CKD units are around 300 to 400. After that Dewan Group may not be able to supply / offer Hyundai engines to the Pakistani buyers for their Shehzore vehicles.

On the other hand Dewan Group claims that they have an agreement with Kolao and Kolao will supply 500 units of CKD kits every month. In this case it would be the first time in Pakistan automobile history that two different auto assemblers will use same brand and specification engines for their vehicles. There may be some positive effects of this situation. But one critical impact is that customer may suffer badly in case of a fight between Nishat and Dewan. It is a known fact that premium / popular brands in Pakistan enjoys a special position and assemblers get advance money against pre bookings of the vehicles. No doubt that Dewan Shehzore (Hyundai H-100) was a very popular model and hopefully “Dewan” successfully got a huge some of money in advance from the customers against the future delivery of vehicles. If Hyundai Nishat will create any legal hurdle and will become successful to stop Dewan for using the Hyundai brand engine, it will directly affect Dewan and ultimately Dewan customer would be on a receiving end.

Policy makers / approving authorities must keep in mind the case of Tawakal Group / Naya Daur Motors fraud in which 16000 people lost their money in the worst scam of Pakistan history. The amount involved in the fraud was around Rupees 800 Million, the customers were deprived of their hard earned cash through advance booking of the vehicle all over the country.

After collecting more than Rs. 800 Million the accused failed to provide vehicles to their customers and fled to U.S. The situation could become more critical in case of Dewan Group because presently group is on banks default list. Dewan acquired Pakland Cement in 2004 for Rs. 1.1 billion in cash soon after which Dewan group started to post losses cascading into problems for the entire group in just 24 months. Things kept turning from bad to worst and by 2008 were vanished from mainstream news. Dewan’s were eventually declared the defaulters of over Rs. 45 billion. Resultantly assembly and marketing of Hyundai vehicles in Pakistan was also stopped.

by Automark correspondent, published in Automark February-2018 printed edition

Toyota Indus and Pak Suzuki motors suspended pre-booking of two variants in Pakistan

As per market sources Toyota Indus and Pakistan Suzuki motors suspended pre-booking of two variants which are  Altis 1.6 and Suzuki wagon R respectively.

The representative of both companies confirmed the news to Automark magazine. The reason behind the suspension of booking of Toyota Altis is that the allocation until February has already been fulfilled and it’s company system to book way ahead of time.  The booking of Toyota Altis will resume soon once company management opens order from July 2018 for August 2018.

The booking of Suzuki Wagon R has also been suspended due to overbooking of Suzuki Wagon R. The local manufacturers are unable to cope up with the overwhelming demand of Wagon R. The booking is expected to start again in 120 days. All the orders received till 31st’ January’2018 will be entertained and will get their cars.

However, after that no booking will be accepted. Both Suzuki wagon R and Toyota Altis has been public’s favorite car because of their distinct features, which is why they are in demand. Both of them were a major hit right after their launch.

Toyota officially launched the variant in 2015 and ALTIS 1.6L cost around Rs. 2,204,000 in Pakistan. Suzuki, on the other hand, was launched in April 2014, While Suzuki Wagon-R has to variant VXR 1000cc for Rs. 1029,000 and VXL 1000cc for 1069,000.

Its worth to mention here that the local manufacturers are not able to cope up with demand and government is closing used car import in personal baggage scheme.

Toyota South Africa recalls more than 700,000 vehicles

CAPE TOWN – Japanese carmaker Toyota’s <7203.T> South African unit recalled more than 700,000 vehicles because of an issue with safety bags used in the cars, an official at Toyota South Africa said.

“Toyota South Africa has initiated an immediate recall in excess of 700,000 vehicles across 10 models, including Lexus. This is part of an ongoing global campaign initiated by car manufacturers related to defective Takata safety bags,” the official said on Thursday.

Toyota has a manufacturing plant south of the eastern port city of Durban, where it makes vehicles for the local and export markets.

The faulty airbags, made by Japanese company Takata, have caused some other manufacturers to recall their cars.

REUTERS

Hilux Revo the flagship model has been temporarily suspended from production by Indus Motors

Indus motor company (IMC) which is the assembler and supplier of Toyota makes and models in Pakistan has as to our knowledge temporarily suspended the production of their Hilux Revo which holds a 3.0 litre 1KD-FTV engine with an intercooler and turbo.

It was the flagship model of Hilux, their main most upper class 4X4 below the Fortuner from the models they assemble locally in Pakistan. Along with that the Fortuner which is a luxury 4×4 SUV has been suspended as well but Indus Motor Company has confirmed it is going to soon be re-launched with a 2.8 litre diesel engine. According to some sources IMC is going to try flash the ECU and reprogram it for the 3.0 litre engine trying to fix the issues specified with mechanics, if they are not able to than the engine will get discontinued and replaced with the 2.8 litre diesel engine which is going to also be introduced in the 2018 Fortuner model.

According to some sources Revo was facing injector and rattling issues with the engine, and similar problems were also faced by people using refurbished imported models of Hilux.

When Hilux Revo was first launched 2 years ago with a refreshed look to the Hilux brand, the vehicle came with a 2.8 litre engine as opposed to what Indus Motor Company decided to launch in Pakistan (3.0 litre engine). They did not give a valid reason as to why they did it but market sources say, that they were trying to save money on it.

Now the company is deciding to launch it with the 2.8 litre 1GD-FTV Diesel engine but this will lead to being questioned by the people and feeling left out and since the engine didn’t last for a long period of time the consumers might face a shortage with parts. Many people complained they were facing bad fuel average and engine issues while the older imported Hilux was dealt with the problem of knocking issue with the engine since the engine was not compatible with diesel.

Auto Policy 2016-21 and Upcoming scenario of Pakistan Auto Industry

Suzuki Mehran may live another life

It seems that after all Suzuki Mehran, despite the announcement of discontinuation by Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) in 2019, may have another life at a new plant set up in Lahore by a leading Chinese two-wheeler assembler.
In June 2017, the Government, under the Automotive Development Plant (ADP) gave permission to United Motors, KIA-Lucky Motors and Nishat-Hyundai to setup green field plants in Pakistan. These new entrants were given special incentives by way of reduced customs duties on import of CKD kit for local assembly of their vehicles.

United Motors (Pvt) Limited

United Motors (Pvt) Ltd., number one bike assembler of Chinese bikes, has entered into local assembly of vehicles that are look-alike of Suzuki Mehran and Ravi but with minor design variations to avoid copyright litigation.

The plant of United in Lahore is ready to produce Mehran and Ravi lookalikes in first half of 2018. It means that the company, instead of introducing its new models in CBU form, has taken a risk to start assembly of 800cc vehicles.

It also means that the company has procured CKD parts from its Chinese Principal and also from local vendors. Commercial production will begin next year just three months before Suzuki Mehran is expected to be discontinued by PSMC. United Auto Industries is venturing into car and pickup manufacturing, United Motors General Manager Sales and Marketing Muhammad Afzal told leading English daily.

United has already run advertisement saying that United Motorcycle is now entering into car manufacturing industry for which dealers are required for the company’s new endeavors. The company has sought application for dealership network latest by December 2017.

He said the company will use Chinese technology (Sichuan Baijie Longteng New Energy Automobile Manufacturing Company and YANGSTE Motor Group Co Limited (pick up) and market its vehicles under the brand name of United. “The local assembly of these vehicles will begin in the first half of 2018,” he added.

The market is abuzz with reports that United is bringing out Chinese cars in collaboration with leading Chinese vehicle assembler – Changan. “Our car and pickup are not the copy of Suzuki brands. Our vehicles are totally different and loaded with various attractive features and safety standards,” Mr Afzal said.

As for the pricing, he said the company intends to keep it “very affordable”. The official did not give any details about the company’s investment in the greenfield project, level of localisation, plant capacity and monthly production number. Pak Suzuki Motor Company is watching the situation from the sidelines. The company has not reacted yet over the plant set up by United Group where Mehran like car will come on the assembly line shortly.

Since 1987, Suzuki Mehran has been the car of choice for customers that have wanted to upgrade from motorcycles to their first automobile. Mehran’s reliability as a first car, its affordable price, low cost parts and extensive after sales network has attracted the middle class which cannot afford to buy more expensive local or imported vehicles.

This might be a story similar to arrival of Chinese motorcycles in 2005 onwards that were look-alikes with Honda’s best selling CD-70 but with a 40 per cent lower price. The customers flocked to embrace these Chinese 2-wheelers, which now dominated with 50-60 per cent market share.

Interestingly, despite the low cost Chinese option, Honda still sells around 700,000 CD-70 motorcycles. When faced with the Chinese threat, it increased localization in CD-70 and reduced the price by Rs 10,000 to bring down the difference and compete with the Chinese products. That strategy has worked out well for Atlas Honda as it is still the largest seller of motorcycles in the country.

Pak Suzuki’s strategy might be different. It plans to discontinue Mehran and introduce the next generation Alto in March 2019. Sources say that Alto will come with better quality and features but with a price tag of Rs 850,000-Rs 900,000 for the basic variant.

It is also being said that United is planning to launch the Mehran look alike at a price of Rs 500,000-Rs 550,000 and will follow it up with look-alikes of Bolan and Ravi. Market reports say that the price of new Chinese 800cc vehicle would close to Suzuki Mehran price like Rs 600,000-700,000.

Mehran, Ravi and Bolan, as an 800cc category, are the largest segment in the auto industry. Combined, these three vehicles sell approximately 8,000 vehicles per month. So far, Pak Suzuki has dominated this sector since another new entrant Al-Haj FAW’s pickups and vans are around Rs 100,000 more expensive than Pak Suzuki Ravi and Bolan respectively.

It is yet to be seen if United car, with a price level lower than Suzuki Mehran would be able to make a dent in Pak Suzuki’s market share, especially during the remaining period of Mehran’s ouster and when Japanese 800cc will be out of the market. The future seems to be full of excitement in the auto industry, with the consumers waiting for affordable options of vehicles especially in the small vehicle category.

Some nine players belonging to bike and property business will try to cash their luck in car and LCV segment. To tap the booming auto sales and demand – some players are fighting legal battle claiming to hold the first right of ownership. In around nine strong competitors in Greenfield projects – seven Pakistani stakeholders have collaborated with Chinese auto sector while two have ventured to introduce Korean automobiles.

Khalid Mushtaq Motors Private Limited.

One is Khalid Mushtaq Motors Private Limited which recently received a green signal from the Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP) to set up a vehicle assembly and manufacturing unit in Nooriabad industrial area under the Greenfield investment category.
KMML Chief Executive Anwar Iqbal said the company has signed a technical collaboration agreement with the Chinese company KYC, a part of Changhan Group, for assembling light commercial vehicles and mini passenger vans.

“We will market the vehicles with the brand name of Mushtaq,” he said, adding that the total investment of the project is around Rs1 billion which would create 200 direct jobs.

The company has planned to assemble vehicles from second quarter next year. The plant has the capacity to roll out 100 vehicles per month.

He said the auto industry is blossoming and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor will also open new avenues for the growing automobiles industry.

According to the industries ministry, the local partner will strictly adhere to the conditions laid down in the notifications.
The company would enter into an agreement with the ministry to ensure compliance to the conditions and various timelines for completion of the project for availing incentives under the Auto Development Policy 2016.

The Engineering Development Board (EDB) shall issue manufacturing certificate and list of importable components to new investors after it verifies that the assembly facilities established by the company are adequate to produce roadworthy vehicles.

Pak China Motors Private Limited.

Pak China Motors Private Limited has yet to get environmental clearance from Environmental Protection Agency due to which the company had closed down their business activities. An official said that the company has revived its plan to resume its activities.

Foton JW Auto Park Private Limited.

Foton JW Auto Park Private Limited (owner of Haier Appliances) has collaborated with Changsha Foton Vehicles Technology of China. However, a legal war is going on between the owner of Haier Appliances and Master Motors Private Limited while company already had groundbreaking of auto assembly plant adjusted to Haier Factory at Riwind road in Lahore.

Master Motors has taken JW Auto to the court claiming ownership right of Foreland trucks. In response, owner of Haier has approached to its principals in China seeking original document or agreement reached between Master and Chinese manufacturer.
As the legal fight lingers on – import of Foreland trucks is going on and the trucks are available at dealership network.

Regal Automobile Industries Limited.

Regal Automobile Industries Limited, whose project has been approved by the government and according to Sources Company already, had all the required documents and permission from government including investment agreement.

They have set up an assembling unit at Multan Road Lahore to produce van and LCVs under DFSK Motor Company Limited of China. However, Pirani Group claims to have already secured a contract with DFSK which is (most probably) expiring in 2017. It is not known what the strategy of Pirani Group is whether it will approach DFSK again or let Regal Automobile to continue with Chinese company.

Habib Rafiq Private Limited.

Habib Rafiq Private Limited is planning to assemble cars, LCVs and SUVs in collaboration with Shandong Wendeng and Zotye International Automobile.

The government has so far not approved the plan of the company but they have submitted all require documents to concern department for approvals.

Cavalier Automotive Corporation

Islamabad based Cavalier Automotive Corporation is in talks with Armaed Vehicles of China.

Two projects involving Korean auto giant are progressing fast.

Hyundai Nishat Motor Private Limited.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has performed ground breaking of Hyundai Nishat Group project in Faisalabad for the assembly of cars and LCVs. The local production of vehicles expected to begin within two years.

The Plant is joint venture between Nishat Group 60% and Sojitz corporation 40% Japan total project costs around 230$ Million while a TLA and Distributor agreement with Hyundai Motors Korea. Millat may take 18% of Nishat share.

The plant will initially produce 7000 vehicles in 2020 and is expected to reach up to production of 30,000 vehicles by 2030.
Hyundai Nishat Motor Ltd signed an investment agreement with the Ministry of Industries and Production under the Automotive Development Policy 2016-21 earlier this week to set up a Greenfield project to undertake assembly and sale of passenger and one-tone commercial vehicles.

The company, as per sources, will not import vehicles in CBU form due to imposition of heavy regulatory
duty. Hyundai’s return to Pakistan will boost the government’s efforts to shake up the Japanese-dominated car market and loosen the grip of Toyota, Honda and Suzuki, who assemble cars in Pakistan with local partners.
Hyundai and South Korea’s Kia Motor used to assemble cars in Pakistan until 2004 but withdrew after their local partner Dewan Farooque Motors Limited plunged into financial difficulties.

KIA Lucky Motors Pakistan Limited.

South Korean carmaker KIA Motor Co will start assembling cars in a joint venture with Karachi-listed Lucky Cement, part of the vast conglomerate Yunus Brothers Group.

According to company sources, they already sing investment agreement, had all required environmental clearance from Environmental Protection Agency and done groundbreaking ceremony in November-2017 during a simple ceremony at Port Qasim area in Karachi. Now they in process of establishing assembly plant while other had working for importing cars in CBU units for local market.

Groupe Renault and Al-Futtaim

Local media ran a lot of reports saying European car assemblers also eye Pakistan to launch local assembly but so far French auto maker had dared to take the risk.

After suspending talks with Ghandhara Nissan Limited (GNL), French automaker Renault is making another attempt to assemble and distribute its vehicles in Pakistan in partnership with Al Futtaim, a Gulf-based business house.

Groupe Renault and Al-Futtaim have signed definitive agreements to assemble vehicles in a new plant in Karachi. The transaction remains subject to a number of conditions mainly relating to regulatory approvals.

The two parties expect that the plant will be built starting the first quarter of 2018. Car sales will begin in 2019 and be ramped up in 2020.

It is surprising that the agreement was not signed in Karachi where the plant will be built. The companies did not reveal the amount of expected investment. They did not state the number of vehicles that the plant will roll out every year.
Al Futtaim said it will “invest the amounts needed to make this project a great success, but as privately owned company, we do not reveal financial details.”

Renault suspended talks with GNL as per a notice that the former sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). GNL informed stock investors that the company, in collaboration with a potential partner, was in talks with Alliance (Renault-plus-Nissan).
However, owing to commercial reasons, GNL’s arrangements with the potential partner could not materialise. From then on, Nissan has been in discussion with GNL while Renault suspended talks, it said. “They, however, shared their view that Pakistan is an alliance project and they aim to select only one partner for Renault and Nissan models in Pakistan,” it added.

Sazgar Engineering Works Limited

Sazgar Engineering Works Ltd informed investors through the Pakistan Stock Exchange that it has signed a vehicle assembly cooperation agreement with a Chinese auto-maker for manu-facturing, assembling, sales and after-sales service of passenger and off-road vehicles. The company has not given any further details.

The auto policy 2016-2021 is now bearing fruits due to rising interest of Chinese and Korean vehicle manufacturers. Barring France’s Renault, European makers are cautiously taking their steps and none of them have shown any serious interest to set up assembly plant in Pakistan. However, limited imports of European cars like BMW, Audi, Mercedes, and Porsche etc have already been going on for many years.

At a time when big players in Europe, USA and China are focusing more introducing electric cars in years to come to reduce consumption of fossil fuels – the foreign players are bringing up their investment mainly in diesel and petrol engine vehicles to least developed countries like Pakistan.

There is a remote chance that the existing assemblers Japanese car giants like Toyota, Suzuki and Honda in Pakistan will ever make any effort to bring electric cars in the next five to 10 years.
Many countries including India have shown their determination and fixed targets to end usage of petrol and diesel and bring electric vehicles.

For Pakistan, China is the only real hope where electric cars are already in use in higher volumes. The price of electric vehicle in China must be quite cheap as compared to other competitors like Germany, Japan and Korea.

The government needs to take some initiative and encourage imports of electric car from China by fixing a reasonable duties and taxes on its imports. This will at least give a new experience for the Pakistani people to drive electric vehicles. In case the import volume soars on high demand – it will open a chance for the local assembly of Chinese electric vehicle. For electric vehicle success – the government needs to create an infrastructure.

Exclusive Reviewed by Awais Khan & Hanif Memon

Published in Monthly AutoMark Magazine’s January-2018 printed edition

Still at Zero point after 70 years

In 2017 a lot of new motorcycles were launched in Pakistan. Few will be assembled here and most of these will be imported from China. But I don’t think that any of the bike will be made here (with 100% Pakistani parts).
Same is the case of cars that there have been many announcements during 2017. For example, Nishat group, Lucky group, United Motorcycles etc will bring brands like Hyundai, Kia, Renault etc.
We see many professionals calling all above as a very good sign of progress. Yes, we agree that it will give jobs and support the economy. But in past many brands came to Pakistan and then returned too. The worse thing is that we did not learn anything from any company who worked here.
We don’t know why professionals are happy? Just for the good jobs with attractive salaries? They are thinking about themselves only? They don’t think about long term progress of Pakistan?
Let us share a few things about India that is not far away but just along our border line. Their company Hero worked with Honda Japan and now is a separate entity and bigger than Honda. Their company Bajaj worked in collaboration with Kawasaki and then Kawasaki left India, as a result Bajaj is a separate entity with good product line, strong R & D etc. If we talk about cars, their brand Maruti worked with Suzuki and is now a huge name with respect to size, products and R & D. Their own brand Tata has shown a lot of progress not only in India but in world too. Infact the Indian giants have taken over famous brand of Europe, America.
Now if we compare them with Pakistan, then can we claim that we have also made progress? We believe it is not the progress. Whether Renault comes or Hyundai goes back, whether Atals Honda launches CB 150R or Road Prince imports Zongshen WEGO 150, in all the cases we as Pakistani cannot claim we have done progress. This progress is not more than some jobs, some new investments etc. Let us explain this. Kawasaki worked here for many years and when they left, we could not even make a logo of Kawasaki. Hyundai and Kia worked here for many years, but when they left we could not even make a handle of same quality with our brand name.
After all these brands of bikes and cars coming here and going back, Pakistan is nowhere with respect to R & D and technological advancements. We name this status as Zero point even after spending seventy years. We request all professionals and authorities to kindly consider long term progress.
Today, even a single company of Pakistan cannot claim that they have made their own motorcycle or car because we are in habit of cut, copy and paste now.
Let us, atleast promise to ourselves (individually) that we will strive for something good for Pakistan. Today when we are at a position of self-reliance in nuclear technology, ship making and even fighter jets then why not motorcycles and cars?

By: Muhammad Zahid Iqbal Malik, Founder & Head of Safe Riding – Road Safety Dept of Pakistan Bikers Club
Published in Monthly AutoMark Magazine’s January-2018 printed edition