Auto sales plunge by 51%

The low purchasing power of consumers coupled with rising car prices have contributed to a 51% decline in automotive sales in September 2022 as compared to the corresponding period last year. “Auto sales are down by 51% to 13,000 units – including the sale of Non-PAMA (Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association) members – year-on-year, amid escalating car prices, expensive auto financing and low purchasing power of consumers,” said Sunny Kumar, Auto Analyst at Topline Securities. This takes the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 car sales to 34,472 units, representing a decrease of around 50% from the figure of 68,897 units in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022. “All companies reported a decline on a month-on-month basis except for Pak Suzuki (PSMC) whose sales were up by 52% month-on-month due to low base as plant closure amid unavailability of completely knocked down (CKD) parts resulted in sales of 3,954 units in August 2022,” said Kumar.