Pakistan Suzuki has demanded substantial cut in import duties to promote new and efficient small cars in the country for the overall growth in their automobile industry.
Pakistan’s auto industry isn’t seeing much growth due to high import duties and very few or no local manufacturing in the country. At one point of time when we could only see Ambassadors and Fiat Padminis on Indian roads, Pakistan had quite a lot of fancy car brands and a wide variety of cars on offer. However, times have changed and today the Indian auto industry has seen a drastic leap forward while manufacturers in Pak are striving for growth due to high taxes on both import of cars and parts.
Pak Suzuki Motor Company is planning to invest $110 million in the country to bring out new cars and replace the existing ones in the next five years. However, before the heavy investment, the automaker has suggested the Pakistan government to slash the import duty on auto components to 10% from a whopping 32.5% on normal parts and 50% on Amax parts. Pak Suzuki has also suggested 25% import duty on the parts for cars of over 1000cc engine. The high tax duties result in pricey locally assembled cars and hence low sales.
Suzuki is planning to replace the Mehran (Maruti 800) and Cultus (Esteem hatch) with new models but before that they want the government to give incentives to the Japanese carmakers operating in the country. Another big issue for manufacturers in Pakistan is heavy imports of used cars in the country which is also hindering new car sales badly. All in all, Pak Suzuki wants the government to impose stricter regulations on imports of used cars and slash down the import tax of parts.
According to the carmaker, if these new steps will be taken by the government seriously then small locally manufactured cars will play a big role in Pakistan’s energy crisis. Smaller cars are more fuel efficient and will require less petroleum products. International players like Renault and Fiat are also considering to enter Pakistan seeking potential growth in the country if the new norms are being implemented anytime soon. For the time being, Pak Suzuki is promoting locally assembled cars in Pakistan.
Source – Pakwheels.com