Sales of locally assembled cars registered 15 per cent growth during September 2006 compared to the same month last year on the back of increased production and demand, official data said on Tuesday.
Latest figures compiled by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) reveal a total of 13,354 cars were sold during September 2006, which shows more than eight per cent decline in sales compared to August 2006. In August, 14,566 cars made their way into the market.
“There is a decline in growth rate of local car sales, which can be attributed to higher imports of second hand or used cars,” said Faisal Shaji, Head of Research at Capital One Equities.
“These imported cars are being brought into the country by a particular class, affecting sales of locally assembled products to some extent.”
However, he said, the decline in sales’ growth had not made a dent in local assemblers’ shares in a big way, as prices of their cars did not witness any significant decline during 2005-06.
Local assemblers last year witnessed sharp growth in their sales as a total of 155,514 cars were sold during July 2005 to June 2006, which stood 22.15 per cent higher compared to 2004-05.
However, consumers’ passion for new cars appears volatile this fiscal, as sales growth of locally assembled cars remained comparatively lower during the first quarter of current financial year.
Among other auto products, production of locally assembled trucks witnessed an increase of 54 units to 417 in September 2006 compared to 363 in August 2006. However, their sales fell slightly by four pieces to 332 from 336.
Production of buses remained higher during September 2006, touching 506 units compared to 444 produced in August 2006. However, they registered decline in sales at 424 units compared to 428 sold in August 2006.
Sales of light commercial vehicles registered a sharp jump, reaching 172 units compared to 76 sold in August 2006. However, production remained lower during September 2006 and touched 60 units against 120 produced in August 2006.
A total of 2,787 pick-ups were sold in September 2006 compared to 2,719 in August while downward trend was witnessed in farm tractors’ sales, which declined to 3,833 compared to 4,119.
Both production and sales of locally assembled motorcycles witnessed a sharp jump during September 2006 as 39,566 bikes were sold compared to 35,734 sold in August 2006. Source: The News