July-May auto industry’s sale registers upward trend

M RAFIQUE GORAYA

LAHORE: Sale and production of passenger cars, trucks, jeeps, farm tractors and machinery and three wheelers motorbikes registered a significant increase in ten months of FY 2017-18 despite increase in prices due to rupee’s devaluation against the US dollar.

According to data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association, the auto industry sold 201,134 passengers cars from July to May against 172,911 cars during corresponding period of last year.

Toyota Corolla sold 47,866 passenger cars, Honda (City and Civic) sold 39,863 cars and Suzuki provided 4.564 Swift cars in the category of 1300 cc and above. There was an increase of 70 percent in the sale of Wagon-R mainly owing to its much demand by the partners of Uber and Careem transport service provider companies.

Sale of motorbikes and three wheelers in the country during first 10 months of current fiscal year (2017-18) increased by 16.18 percent as compared to the sale during July-May 2016-

The motorbikes sale rose to 17,44,463, units during July-May 2017-18 compared to sale of 15.01,393 units in the same period of previous year, sale of Honda bikes surged by 19.15 per cent as it jumped to 1,058,839 units in Jul-May (2017-18) from 888,640 units in same period of previous year. During July-May (2017-18), United Auto motorbikes produced 372, 558 units against 298,329 units in same period of the preceding year, showing an increase of 24.9 percent.

Farm tractor manufacturers Fiat and Massey Ferguson both enjoyed great sales during past ten months. Massey Ferguson sold 40.349 units, about 9,000 tractors more than the last year’s sale of 31606 units.

Fiat sold 26,334 tractors against last year’s sale of 18,317 units of tractors.