Amid ongoing economic challenges, Indus Motors Company (IMC), the producer of Toyota vehicles in Pakistan, expressed confidence in the automotive industry's ability to overcome these hurdles. Emphasizing the importance of import substitution, IMC's CEO, Ali Asghar Jamali, stated that they are actively working on import substitution strategies and exploring opportunities to boost exports in order to address the current economic situation.
"We are devising plans to survive and we will survive somehow,” the IMC CEO vowed.
Despite economic uncertainties and imbalanced taxation, IMC remains committed to its plans for the Toyota Corolla Cross, Pakistan's first locally produced hybrid electric vehicle SUV. The company has faced intermittent plant shutdowns and reduced production shifts due to these challenges. Jamali mentioned that the increased tax burden, including GST, CVT, and WTH, has impacted car prices, leading to difficulties. He highlighted the potential for the company to switch to importing cars if the government allows.
To adapt to the circumstances, IMC has taken measures such as cost-cutting, operating the plant on a single shift, reducing various expenditures, optimizing packaging expenses, and implementing energy-saving initiatives. Despite these efforts, the auto industry has seen a decline in sales, with a significant decrease in sales volume compared to previous years. Auto sales, encompassing cars, light commercial vehicles (LCVs), vans, and Jeeps, decreased by 16% to 5100 units during July 2023 compared to June 2023, and they plunged by 57% when compared to July 2022, as reported by AHL Research.
Throughout the first seven months of the calendar year 2023, auto sales totaled 48,000 units, marking a decline of 69% year-on-year. The auto industry has experienced a collective drop in sales by around one-third, with every company achieving approximately one-third of their sales from three years prior.