Karachi, 28 July 2022 (TDI): Toyota and Suzuki, Pakistan’s two leading car assemblers, plan to shut down their plants due to the unavailability of raw materials.
The idea for shutting down plants in Pakistan came because of the rising barriers in the imports of the country. This shutdown is reported for the coming month.
The government has been tackling the decline in the currency, depleting reserves, and increasing account deficits by curbing imports.
The rupee has lost its value by 20%. The lack of imports is affecting the industries that function on the imports for completing goods. The central bank has delayed the imports’ clearance letters due to a nationwide shortage of dollars.
“There will be 10 working days next month, only if the Central Bank allows us to open a letter of credit based on the quota they promised,” says Ali Asghar Jamali, Chief Executive at Indus Motor Company Ltd. which assembles Toyota vehicles in Pakistan.
Moreover, refunds will be given to customers facing delays and markups. The deliveries might be delayed for up to a span of three months and the prices will be reassigned due to a lack of dollars available.
There has been a decline of $9.3 Billion in the Central Bank reserves. This loss could have covered nearly two months of imports, according to the report. The current account deficit for the most recent fiscal year reached 5% of GDP due to record-high imports.
Suzuki Pakistan to shut down in August
Suzuki Pakistan, a company that assembles Suzuki vehicles locally also expressed its concern regarding the new policies of the central bank, for prior approval for imports. A plant shutdown is expected in August because of such restrictions.
“Restrictions had adversely impacted clearance of import consignments from ports.” says the head of public relations for Pak Suzuki Motors, Shafiq A. Shaikh. He further added, “If the same situation continues, then from August 2022 we have big problems.”
Toyota Indus- Indus Motor Company in Pakistan
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC), and several House of Habib firms from Pakistan are partners in the joint venture known as Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC).
The Company produces and sells automobiles under the Toyota brand in Pakistan. It was founded in 1989. Over 31 years, since its beginning, IMC has sold more than 961,500 vehicles.
Toyota has excellent customer value in Pakistan and has been the greatest seller in the country in the automobile industry.
Toyota Corolla is the most sold automobile in the state. IMC has played a major role in the development of the entire value chain of the local auto industry.
Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMCL)
Pak Suzuki is an automobile company in Pakistan that is a subsidiary of the Japanese company Suzuki. PSMCL is a Pakistani assembler and distributor of Japanese cars. It is one of the biggest car distributor companies in the country.
This company was a cooperative project between the semi-governmental Pakistan Automobile Corporation (PACO) and Suzuki Motor Japan.
Founded in 9182, it has been the biggest dealer of small cars in the market. As of 2018, Pak Suzuki Motors produces over 150,000 cars and light commercial vehicles.
