High dollar rate, supply delays caused spike in automobile prices - experts

Having a car is the dream of any middle-class or salaried class person in our part of the world. But, the most important thing is to have an automobile that is in their buying range. 

However, in recent times even the cars considered to be Budget cars have gone out of the middle-classs’ range.

But what is the reason for this spectacular hike in the region?

Experts say that supply delays, import bans, and high dollar rates have caused locally assembled automobile prices to go up by 100%.

Talking in the ARY program Bakhabar Sawera Automobile expert Suneel Sarfaraz Manj said that automobile companies have increased prices citing high dollar rates and supply delays of parts used in vehicles.

He added that parts of locally-assembled cars are imported and paid for in dollars, which has caused the recent hike in automobile prices in the country.

Suneel added that the reason companies do not manufacture cars locally is that we do not have a stable economic policy. Investors are reluctant to spend in a country that has an unpredictable economic future, he added.

If the government facilitates the automobile sector then it could be saved from further crisis.

However, since the local currency started gaining ground against the USD in recent days, some companies dropped the prices of their vehicles.

Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC) and Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) have reduced the prices of their vehicles.

Also Read: Car prices fall in Pakistan as dollar weakens

Indus Motors reduced the prices of Corolla models in the range of Rs330,000-Rs440,000. The price of Corolla 1.6 MT was reduced from Rs4.899 million to Rs4.569 million with a reduction of Rs330,000. The Corolla 1.6 AT variant is now priced at Rs4.789 million after a downward revision of Rs350,000.