Motor vehicle imports rise by 194 percent in the first half of FY21

The import bill of Completely Built-Up (CBU) vehicles has risen by 193.7 percent in the first half of the Fiscal Year 2020-21 (FY21). The import bill stood at $94 million in the first half of FY21 as compared to just $32 million in the first half of the Fiscal Year 2019-20 (FY20). The rise in the imports of CBUs was largely due to the increase in demand for vehicles as well as the new entrants in the auto sector.

The overall import bill had dropped by 55 percent in FY20 as compared to the previous year due to the governmental policies to discourage the import of used cars while encouraging the sales of locally manufactured cars as well as policies to welcome new entrants into the auto sector. The improvement in the economy after the lockdown has also lead to an increase in demand.

The Chairman of the All Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APMDA), H.M. Shahzad, said that the figures of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) cover CBU imports of both used and new cars in which 660-1,000cc hold an over 90 percent share. He also claimed that 10,000-12,000 used cars, SUVs, pickups, etc. were imported during July-Dec 2020 which is far lower when compared with overall imports of 18,500 units in FY20, 55,000 units in FY19, and 82,500 units in FY18.

Source: Dawn
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