Govt rejects Pak Suzuki’s demand, turns down Audi’s assembly-only plan

[VCheng]

If it is only 800cc then of course it is hugely overpriced even taking low range price of USD 6500. M800 in India (now discontinued) costed around 5000 USD (a second hand M800 which cost me INR 40K in 2000 was my first car incidentally!)

Regards

The cause for the overpricing is taxation. This same taxation structure will likely inhibit any newcomers too, despite touting the benefits of the new auto policy.

 

[SoulSpokesman]

What is the excise duty rate for cars in Pakistan? In India it is 24%, I believe.

Regards

 

[Chak Bamu]

I think you can respond better to this:



Is 1000 cars per year sufficient to justify setting up a new manufacturing plant in Pakistan? Even 10,000 per year is not enough.

Nope not at all. Audi should be looking at matching Indus Motors Company (Toyota affiliate in Pakistan). I have not kept up with the industry, but frankly making 1000 units per year would be idiotic unless the plan is to create marketing buzz and to enjoy margins over a restricted supply. I do not see that happening at this scale.

About missing safety features: it is done to control costs, betting on consumers not noticing the absence.

If the market was completely open, there would be little or no car assembly in Pakistan. It is basically the duty structure & restricted market which makes the cars expensive. Cheaper cars mean more of them and an increase in petroleum import bill.

 

[SoulSpokesman]

Chak Bamu,

Cheaper cars mean more of them and an increase in petroleum import bill.

Good point. Better thing should be to focus on mass transit.

Regards

 

[VCheng]

Nope not at all. Audi should be looking at matching Indus Motors Company (Toyota affiliate in Pakistan). I have not kept up with the industry, but frankly making 1000 units per year would be idiotic unless the plan is to create marketing buzz and to enjoy margins over a restricted supply. I do not see that happening at this scale.

About missing safety features: it is done to control costs, betting on consumers not noticing the absence.

If the market was completely open, there would be little or no car assembly in Pakistan. It is basically the duty structure & restricted market which makes the cars expensive. Cheaper cars mean more of them and an increase in petroleum import bill.

If the government policies are idiotic (which they are), then the Pakistani consumer is very much too (sorry to be blunt). They all want the latest technology at cheap prices that can run on fake lubricants, substandard fuel and cheapest tires, and yet last 35 years. It simply does not work that way.

In addition to your point about the energy import costs, please also keep in mind that government policies regard cars as luxury items, not essential for the middle classes.

Yes, that lovable but much hated tin can called Mehran is a luxury item, even without airbags.

 

[I S I]

As someone who worked for Indus Motors Company

Damn, where is my fkin RPG...

 

[Chak Bamu]

Damn, where is my fkin RPG...

Now that would be too stiff a penalty for an 8 month stint. I did not like the company culture and chose not to stay. So, there....

 

[I S I]

Now that would be too stiff a penalty for an 8 month stint. I did not like the company culture and chose not to stay. So, there....

:putting down RPG:

 

[Finer]

Why all this hate for Pak Suzuki? The cars are well-suited to the Pakistani market: affordable to buy, cheap to run, easy to maintain, relative to other available options. No wonder they sell every unit they make

VW is actually a lot cheaper than Suzuki. Suzuki sells because they are the only one in the market while Corolla/Civic and Camry/Accord gets branded as premium models, thus cost premium price. I am beginning to think you have personal touch with Suzuki.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

sorry going a bit off topic here but i always wanted to ask someone who worked in the industry
whose fault is it for stripping the basic safety features from the car like corolla and city which cost well above 1 million and when their international models comes with all the bells and whistles ?and why they do that?

Because they know they can get away with it without much bad PR. They'll strip it down as much as they can until somebody screams enough that they get noticed. . If they could sell you a car with no tires for the same price they would.

It is not just in Pakistan. Car companies sell "special" tin can versions of their popular cars in central and South America too. You wouldn't want to be in an accident in one of them.

 

[VCheng]

VW is actually a lot cheaper than Suzuki. Suzuki sells because they are the only one in the market while Corolla/Civic and Camry/Accord gets branded as premium models, thus cost premium price. I am beginning to think you have personal touch with Suzuki.

The VW Up range starts at about USD 10,000 dollars in most countries. The price in Pakistan, after taxes, would make it even more expensive, far above Suzuki. A super stripped out local model would make more sense, but only if it can be made within Pakistan, but the numbers simply do not work out under the present market and tax conditions.

 

[Hell hound]

Because they know they can get away with it without much bad PR. They'll strip it down as much as they can until somebody screams enough that they get noticed. . If they could sell you a car with no tires for the same price they would.

It is not just in Pakistan. Car companies sell "special" tin can versions of their popular cars in central and South America too. You wouldn't want to be in an accident in one of them.

i guess i already knew the answer to my question but i just need someone else to tell me that it was stupid of me to expect ethics and moral values from giant corporations thanks bro

 

[Basel]

The size of the local market in Pakistan is simply not large enough for a company to make the large investment in an actual manufacturing plant. Exporting from Pakistan is another option to make it viable, but there are already plants in the region with excess capacity.

Exporting vehicles made in Pakistan should be looked into and for that proper home work should be done, with CPEC completion there is room for auto exports to Central Asia and ME.

 

[VCheng]

Exporting vehicles made in Pakistan should be looked into and for that proper home work should be done, with CPEC completion there is room for auto exports to Central Asia and ME.

But, as I said, there are already plants offering excess capacity in the region.

 

[Basel]

But, as I said, there are already plants offering excess capacity in the region.

Those plants have access to CA & Russia??