KARACHI: As the automobile sector ended FY23 with a 50 per cent dip in year-on-year sales, Indus Motor Company (IMC) said it has signed an agreement with Toyota Egypt to export “high-quality products” from July.

A press release issued by the company on Tuesday did not specify the nature of the products which will be exported.

The first consignment “will mark the beginning of an era” from an export point of view by an original equipment manufacturer in Pakistan, the company said.

In a ceremony held at the company’s plant at Port Qasim, IMC Chief Executive Ali Asghar Jamali said the move will bolster connectivity between Africa and Pakistan and boost trade links under the government’s ‘Look Africa’ policy.

Sales fall to 14-year low

The automobile sector had a forgetful year in 2023 when its sales slumped by more than half compared to the preceding year.

Automobile sales fall to 14-year low

The FY23 ended on a negative note with a whopping drop of 55pc in the sales of cars, light commercial vehicles, jeeps and vans from 279,267 units in FY22 to 126,879 units.

The sales were the lowest since FY09, Arif Habib Limited (AHL) said, quoting the figures released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA).

The dip was despite a 10 per cent month-on-month increase from 5,464 units in May to 6,034 in June. The number was 79pc lower than 23,379 units during the same month in 2022.

The sale of two-wheelers plummeted by 34pc to 1.16m units in FY23 from 1.78m in FY22, while trucks’ sales plunged by 45pc from 5,802 to 3,182 units, followed by a six per cent drop in bus sales from 696 to 654 units.

Tractor sales came down by 48pc from 58,947 to 30,942 units while 52pc fewer three-wheelers were sold — from 40,098 units to 19,066 units.

Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited sold 2pc more units — 3,009 — in June 2023 as compared to 2,958 in May 2023. Year-on-year June 2023 sales showed a drop of 81pc compared to 16,009 units in 2022.

PSMCL’s total sales in FY23 fell by 57pc from 150,279 units in FY22 to 65,363 units.

The sales of Indus Motor Company, the assembler of Toyota vehicles, increased by 7pc month-on-month in June 2023 — from 1,718 in May to 1,846 units in June.

A 57pc drop in sales of Honda Atlas Cars Limited was recorded in FY23 — from 39,452 units in FY22 to 16,879 units.

In June, the sales soared to 307 units compared to just 87 in May. However, in June 2023, sales were 92pc lower than in June 2022.

As Japanese car assemblers saw their sales plummet, their Korean counterparts also suffered similar dips. Hyundai Nishat suffered a year-on-year fall of 26pc from 13,132 units in FY22 to 9,688 units.

The company’s month-on-month sales grew by 11pc in June 2023, from 503 to 558 units, but faced a 70pc year-on-year drop compared to the sale of 1,871 units in June 2022.

Sazgar Engineering sold 1,827 units in FY23, down from 467 units in FY22.

Top Line Securities’ Sunny Kumar said the non-availability of CKDs, escalating car prices, expensive auto financing, rising interest rates and low purchasing power of consumers were the primary reasons for the decline in sales.

He said the improvement in sales during June 2023 was due to the availability of CKD parts.

He said tractor sales were also hit by floods, plant shutdowns, lower buying power and higher prices.

Mr Kumar added bus sales were down primarily due to a drop in transportation activity and a slowdown in the overall economy.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2023