By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan’s automobile industry opened its new fiscal year with the strongest July on record, as sales nearly doubled from a year earlier on the back of new market entrants, fresh product launches and easier access to auto financing.
Total sales of cars, light commercial vehicles, vans, jeeps and electric vehicles climbed to 19,818 units in July, the first month of fiscal year 2026-27, up about 80% from 11,034 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association. The gain came even as volumes slipped 13% from June, when pre-budget buying had pushed sales to 22,741 units.
“The YoY growth was led by strength across passenger cars, which grew 141% YoY,” said Leena Abid, an auto analyst at Arif Habib Ltd. The pullback from June, she said, reflected a normalisation after pre-budget purchasing and lingering uncertainty over the government’s new Auto Policy, which weighed on bookings during the month.
Myesha Sohail, an auto analyst at Topline Securities, offered a similar assessment. “The YoY rise was driven by new market entrants, new product launches and a surge in auto financing,” she said. “Meanwhile, the MoM decline was primarily due to uncertainty surrounding the new auto policy.”
Passenger Cars Lead the Charge
Passenger vehicles accounted for most of the annual improvement. Pak Suzuki Motor Co. led the gains with 10,120 units sold, up 175% from a year ago, though sales eased 12% from June. Indus Motor Co. sold 5,089 units, a 53% annual increase and a 45% jump from the prior month, aided by demand for its Corolla Cross lineup. Honda Atlas Cars sold 2,640 units, up 76% year-on-year but down 11% from June, while Sazgar Engineering’s passenger-car sales fell to 663 units from 1,079 a year earlier, a 39% decline.
The strength was broad-based across engine categories. Sales of vehicles with engines of 1,300cc and above surged 111% year-on-year to 9,066 units. Suzuki’s Swift posted the sharpest gain in the category, with sales more than tripling to 2,018 units from 522 a year earlier, a 287% increase. Combined sales of the Honda Civic and Honda City rose 121% to 2,529 units from 1,143.
Among smaller vehicles, Suzuki’s Alto and Every models drove the below-1,000cc segment, with sales rising to 7,217 units and 492 units, respectively, from 2,327 and 230 a year earlier. In the 1,000cc bracket, the Suzuki Cultus was the sole model tracked, with sales climbing 64% to 392 units.
Not every model shared in the rally. Toyota’s Fortuner and Revo lineup slipped 12% to 806 units, while sales of the Hyundai Tucson fell sharply to 171 units from 546 a year earlier. Honda’s BRV and HRV models posted combined sales of 111 units, down from 357. JAC’s pickup sales, by contrast, jumped 140% to 357 units from 149.
Two-Wheelers, Commercial Vehicles Also Advance
Two- and three-wheeler sales rose 39% year-on-year to approximately 169,713 units, though volumes eased on a monthly basis, according to Arif Habib Ltd. Atlas Honda Ltd. remained the dominant force in the category, while Suzuki’s two- and three-wheeler sales climbed 29% to 3,259 units from 2,518. United Auto’s motorcycle sales advanced 30% to 16,393 units from 12,605, and Sazgar’s three-wheeler sales nearly doubled to 2,562 units from 1,415.
Commercial vehicles also posted sharp annual gains. Truck sales industry-wide surged 169% year-on-year, while bus sales rose 14%. Ghandhara Automobiles Ltd. reported truck sales of 111 units, up 247% from a year earlier and 31% from June. Ghandhara Industries Ltd. posted sales of 424 trucks, a 212% annual increase. Hino’s sales rose 14% year-on-year to 50 units but fell 21% from June.
Farm tractor sales rose 4% year-on-year to 1,242 units, though they tumbled 59% from June’s elevated levels. Al-Ghazi Tractors Ltd. sold 414 units, up 29% from a year earlier, while Millat Tractors Ltd. sold 828 units, down 5%.
Outlook Stays Positive Despite Policy Uncertainty
Analysts expect the momentum to hold through the fiscal year, even as the industry navigates the rollout of Pakistan’s new Auto Policy. “We expect the positive momentum in auto sales to continue in FY27, with double-digit growth supported by the launch of new variants and the entry of new brands in the market,” Sohail said.
Underlying the monthly figures, analysts have also pointed to a broader structural shift in the market: over the first eleven months of fiscal 2026, buyers moved increasingly away from traditional internal-combustion-engine vehicles toward hybrid and electric models, helping lift overall auto sales 47% compared with the same period a year earlier.
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