Pakistan: Automobile Sales Fall 33.6% to 128,000 Units in 2020; Suzuki’s Share Dropping Below 50%

Pakistan's locally-assembled vehicle sales (PAMA members only) fell 33.6% compared to the previous year to 128,000 units in 2020. The sharp decline is the result of lockdown measures related to the spread of the new coronavirus infection and the economic downturn. In Pakistan, new automobile sales plummeted in the second half of 2019 due to changes in automobile-related taxation and regulations in mid-2019. As a result, the number of vehicles sold in 2020 halved in two years from the record high level of 260,000 units in 2018.

In Pakistan, lock-down was implemented throughout the country from late March 2020 as a countermeasure against the new corona infection, so automobile production and sales were fully suspended for about two months. As a result, unit sales fell 62.6% to 46,000 units in the first half of the year. In the second half of the year, sales recovered to 81,000 units, going up 17.7%. However, the high recovery rate was partly attributable to a significant market contraction of 44.0% in the second half of 2019.