Pak Suzuki hikes car prices for the second time in a month – business and finance
Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) has increased the prices of its cars by Rs 175,000-350,000, for the second time within a month, following price hikes by Indus Motor Company and Honda Atlas. The new rates will be applicable from February 9.
The company had earlier increased the prices by Rs 115,000 and Rs 355,000 on January 24.
With the latest round of price hike, the price of its cheapest and most popular passenger car Alto VX crossed the Rs 20 lakh mark.
Pak Suzuki announces plant closure again due to lack of inventory
After a price hike of Rs 175,000, the Alto VX will now sell for Rs 2.034 million.
The high-end Swift GLX CVT will now sell for Rs 4.462 lakh after a price hike of Rs 347,000. The vehicle was earlier priced at Rs 4.115 million.
The Wagon-R variant saw an increase in prices in the range of Rs 248,000-289,000, while the Cultus model saw an increase in the range of Rs 287,000-337,000.
Pak Suzuki suspends motorcycle bookings amid supply chain constraints
Recently, Indus Motor Company and Honda Atlas also increased their prices for the second time within a month amid a sharp fall in the rupee.
Auto sector analyst Arsalan Haneef told the Business Recorder that “Pak Suzuki hiked prices like other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), which hiked prices multiple times in a month’s time”.
“The only reason behind the increase in prices is the recent depreciation of the rupee. We expect higher car prices to slow down the company’s sales volumes as consumers’ purchasing power parity is affected due to high inflation and rising interest rates.
When Suzuki increased the prices last month, company spokesman Shafiq Ahmed Sheikh said that “this is a critical time for Pak Suzuki as sellers and dealers are upset due to no production and sales.”
“This is on account of current economic uncertainties, inflation in input costs, volatile foreign exchange position and increase in prices of utilities and overheads. This has made it very difficult for us to maintain the current selling prices.”
In the past one month, Indus Motor Company (Toyota), Honda Atlas Cars, Lucky Motor Corporation (KIA) and Hyundai Nishat Motor have announced hike in car prices amid a sharp depreciation in the rupee.
Earlier this month, Honda Atlas Cars increased the prices of its vehicles for the second time in two weeks, taking the hike by Rs 1.1 million on a cumulative basis.
Hyundai-Nishat Motors also increased the prices of its vehicles by Rs 400,000-500,000 earlier this month. Lucky Motor Corporation increased the prices of its Kia vehicles in the range of Rs 100,000 to Rs 1.3 million.
Indus Motor, the assembler and seller of Toyota-brand vehicles in Pakistan, has also increased the prices of its cars twice recently. IMC notified an increase in the prices of its vehicles with an increase of up to Rs.1.16 million in the latest round of price hike.
Pakistan’s automobile sector has been badly hit due to rapidly depleting foreign exchange reserves and the problem of opening of Letters of Credit (LCs) due to a weak rupee.
,