2010-03-15 12:35:02 -
Pakistan Autos Report Q2 2010 - a new market research report on companiesandmarkets.com
www.companiesandmarkets.com/Summary-Market-Report/pakistan-autos ..
Pakistans car sales for the first six months of FY09/10 have increased 27.62% year on year (y-o-y), to 53,565 units. October 2009 has been the strongest month year-to-date, with total monthly car sales of some 11,110, according to figures released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA). One reason for October being such a strong month is that it came before carmakers moved to increase prices to counter the effects of exchange-rate fluctuations which had been adversely affecting margins. The most recent monthly data (for December 2009) showed total car sales of 7,068. This was an 18% decline month-on-month (m-o-m), but a sharp 260% increase y-o-y. Indeed, with car sales showing a 27.62% increase over the first half of FY09/10,
we believe that risks to our previous forecast of a 5% increase in car sales for the current fiscal year could now lie to the upside and we have raised our growth forecast for the car segment to 33%.
Turning to car segments, the strongest cumulative increase in sales over the first six months of FY09/10 has come from the 1300cc and above segment, where sales have risen by 62.66%. The 800-1000cc segment recorded growth of 27.62%, with the 1000-1300cc segment seeing the slowest rate of growth over the six-month period, of 13.49%.
Pakistan rounds out The Business Environment Ratings for the automotive industry in Asia Pacific in 14th place with a rating of 38.9 from a possible 100. The market is held back by low production growth potential and an average rating for sales growth. However, as a signatory to the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) under the auspices of the WTO, the country´s regulatory environment scores well. A number of free trade agreements also contribute to this criterion, although forming FTAs with non-Asian countries would improve this rating further. Despite low marks for bureaucracy and corruption, the market does score well for its long-term economic risk and policy continuity.
The competitive landscape remains restricted to a handful of players, however. Indus Motor took advantage of growth in the higher engine capacity passenger car segment, with sales of the Toyota Corolla up by 99.07% for the first six months of the financial year. However, another of Indus models, the Daihatsu Cuore, suffered a 43.53% decline in sale over 6MFY09/10. Taken together, sales of the Toyota Corolla and the Daihatsu Cuore accounted for a total market share of 37.6% for Indus Motor over the first six months of the year. Pak Suzuki´s market share (based on sales of the Liana, Swift, Cultus, Alto, Mehran and Bolan models) for the six months stood at 51.4%. Pak Suzuki launched five variants of the Suzuki Swift in October.
