Car sales in Pakistan surged 69% to 9,820 units in December 2024 as compared to the same month of the last year, showed data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) on Tuesday.
This took the first half (Jul-Dec) of FY25 sales to 60,676 units, a rise of 54% as compared to 39,453 units in the same half of FY24.
SUVs (sport utility vehicles) and LCVs (light commercial vehicles) sales soared 148% to 2,236 units in December as compared to 900 units in the same month of last year.
Month-on-month: car sales in Pakistan down 22% in November due to year-end effect
The SUVs dominated the growth trend in the first six months (Jul-Dec) of current fiscal year 2024-25 in line with the global shift towards the crossover from high-end passenger cars as compared to the same half of the last year.
SUVs and LCVs sales were up 91% year-on-year in the first half of FY25.
The industry sold 16,775 units of SUVs and LCVs during July-December FY25 as compared to 8,792 units in the same half of the last year. Accordingly, their share surged to around 30% in total sales in the half-year under review as compared to 22% in the same half of the last year.
“The growth in SUV sales is in line with the global shift towards the SUVs, as they are available in the same price range in which high-end sedans are available,” Hamdan Ahmed, auto sector analyst at Optimus Capital Management, told media.
“The jump in SUV sales (in Pakistan) is led by Toyota Corolla Cross and Sazgar Haval in the six months,” he said, adding the shift towards the crossover began in Pakistan in 2018.
Hyundai, Changan, and KIA were among major players in the segment in the country at present.
Tahir Abbas, Director Equity at Arif Habib Limited, said the launch of new SUV models played a key role in inviting the notable demand in the segment.
“The growth is well supported by a significant cut in the interest rate which helped reviving the vehicle sales on bank financing,” Abbas said.
He projected that the SUV segment would continue to dominate the vehicle sales with Hyundai, Honda and KIA set to launch new models of the crossover in the just started second half (Jan-Jun) of FY25. The stability in price, bank leasing and cut in the interest rate would continue to support growth in car sales, going forward, according to Abbas.
However, on month-on-month basis, car sales in Pakistan dropped 3% in December 2024 as compared to November 2024.
“The month-on-month decline can primarily be attributed to the end-of-year effect, with buyers postponing deliveries or purchases to obtain new year registrations,” Myesha Sohail, analyst at Topline Research, said.
The year-on-year rise in car sales was driven by lowered interest rates, improved consumer confidence, and launch of newer variants and models, she added.
Indus Motor Company (INDU) was the only company to experience a month-on-month decline of 25% in December 2024, while all other companies saw both month-on-month and year-on-year increase in sales.
The 2 and 3 wheelers’ sales increased by 43% year-on-year while down 2% month-on-month, totaling to 118,091 units in December 2024.
“Auto sale has seen a recovery in the past few months and going forward we expect sales to post strong growth from January 2025 owing to expected recovery in auto finance amidst falling interest rates,” Sohail said.
Data from Sazgar Engineering Works (SAZEW) was not released by the time of filing the report; hence, the December numbers excluded SAZEW’s sales.
In 2024, car sales clocked in at 125,050 units, a 52% rise from 2023’s sales of 82,215 units.
Among non PAMA members, KIA Lucky Motors saw a 30-40% rise in its sales in 2024 as compared to 2023 with volumes estimated at 6500-7000 units.
Including KIA sales, industry car sales in 2024 surged by 51% as compared to the previous year.
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