Year 2018 is about to end, and it will probably be remembered as the year that witnessed the most number of price revisions ever made in the history of Pakistan’s automobile industry. The primary reason of the repetitive price hikes is attributed to Pak Rupee that started to lose its value against the US Dollar since December 2017.
Related: Rising Car Prices Will Have a Negative Affect on the Automobile Industry
Automakers in Pakistan revised their product prices four to five times in 2018 with an increase of up to 250,000 on each local assembled model. And with Pak Rupee continuing to plunge, auto consumers of Pakistan might get hit by more price revisions in future. Toyota and Honda have already indicated their revised prices that will be applicable from 1st January 2019.
Analysts believe this will affect the growth of the auto industry which is already suffering low sales for the last couple of months. This is for the first time since fiscal year 2015, that auto industry has reported a decline in sales. Furthermore sales of locally assembled vehicles fell sharply in November 2018 due to hike in prices, coupled by government’s restrictions on purchase of new vehicles by non-filers of tax returns. According to information, more than 60% of car buyers in Pakistan happens to be non-filers.
Related: Car Sales Declined Sharply in November 2018
If we take a look back at year 2018, the price increase looks ginormous. Just to give an idea, Toyota Corolla XLi 1.3 MT which used to be PKR 17.59 lac a year earlier now cost PKR 20.44 lac. Similarly the Corolla GLi 1.3 AT went from PKR 19.64 lac to PKR 23.74 lac. As for Altis 1.6 the price has increased from PKR 21.49 lac to PKR 25.74 lac. Whereas the flagship Altis Grande 1.8 CVTi has gone from PKR 24.85 lac to PKR 29.99 lac. Price of every other variant not mentioned above have seen a similar revision.
Pak Suzuki Cultus VXL went from PKR 13.91 lac  to PKR 15.01 lac, whereas the Wagon R VXL which used to cost PKR 10.94 lac in December 2017 is now available for PKR 12.74 lac. Pak Suzuki’s hot selling Mehran VXR used to be PKR 7.34 lac back then, it is now available for PKR 8.40 lac, however the company has recently announced to officially discontinue the 30 year old hatchback, that will see the new Alto 660cc as its replacement, expected to be launched around March 2019.
Related: Car Prices in Pakistan are Higher than Other Regional Markets
Al-Haj FAW also kept revising the priced amid depreciating Rupee against the Dollar. The V2 hatchback which used to be priced at PKR 10.69 lac is now available for PKR 12.89 lac. The FAW X-PV dual a/c which was PKR 9.19 lac has now reached PKR 10.94 lac.
Honda Atlas has also made price several revisions after which the 1.3 liter Honda City went from PKR 15.49 lac to PKR 18.54 lac. The City Aspire 1.5 which used to be PKR 17.29 lac is now available for PKR 20.64 lac, whereas the Civic 1.8 Oriel went from PKR 24.99 lac in December 2017 to PKR 29.59 lac in December 2018.
Related: Pak Suzuki Posts 55% Decline in 9 Month Net Profit
The above are only a few examples as every single variant produced by every assembler saw a massive increase in price. Not only this, but the imported options took a sever toll too. Suzuki APV saw an increase from PKR 24.18 lac to 27.18 lac. The Honda CR-V which used to be PKR 95.0 lac is now available for PKR 107.0 lac, Honda Accord went up from PKR 112.5 lac to PKR 137.5 lac. Toyota Camry went from PKR 85.0 lac to PKR 120.0 lac, Prius went from PKR 48.3 lac to PKR 63.5 lac, and Prado TX went from PKR 157.0 lac to PKR 207.0 lac to name a few. Additionally the newcomer Kia has also revised the prices of their products after which the Grand Carnival LX went from PKR 39.9 lac to PKR 42.5 lac, whereas the EX variant saw an increase from PKR 47.9 lac to PKR 51.5 lac.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
