KARACHI: Truck sales outperformed bus segment in the outgoing fiscal year.

All the four assemblers achieved impressive sales with Hinopak trucks leading with 1,510 units in 2014-15 as compared to 1,055 units in 2013-2014. Sales of Nissan trucks, Master and Isuzu grew to 852, 811 and 938 units from 378, 650 and 580 units.

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A slight improvement in Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM) suggests more demand of trucks for goods movement.

According to figures of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports during July-May 2014-15 totalled $21,869 million as against $23,092m during the corresponding period of last year.

Country’s imports during July-May 2014-15 amounted to $41,585 million as against $40,755m during the corresponding period of last year.

According to figures of Pakistan Automotive Manuf­ac­turers Association (Pama), the same assemblers in bus segment gave mixed performance, led by a slight decline in Hinopak bus sales to 475 from 496 units.

There was no production or sale of Nissan buses in 2014-15.

Master bus sales fluctuated in the outgoing fiscal year as only 12 units were sold as against five in 2013-14.

Isuzu bus sales inched up to 82 units from 70.

An assembler said that during the outgoing fiscal year bus sales could either be considered almost the same or slightly on the negative side.

He said that a shift was seen towards big and light commercial vehicles instead of buses, mainly in Punjab. Import of big commercial vans is going up.

Hino bus sales were relatively better than its competitors, as in Punjab many federal and provincial institutes were buying Hino buses.

Sources said that the Sindh government did not purchase a single unit from local assemblers during the last five years.

He attributed rising truck sales to the imposition of age-limit on used trucks which were imported under the garb of water sprinklers and water bowsers.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2015

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