[🇵🇰] Automobile industries in Pakistan

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Goodbye, Suzuki Bolan:
A legacy ends. 1988-2024

Suzuki Pakistan has discontinued the production of Bolan, also known as Carry Dabba, after a 36-year dominance in the Pakistani market. The company is slated to introduce Suzuki Every in the second week of October 2024, targeting the van segment.

 

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Founders of Japanese Auto Companies.

 

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BYD and Hubco Partner to Launch Pakistan’s First Electric Vehicle Assembly Plant​

September 22, 2024




Chinese electric vehicle (EV) giant BYD, backed by Warren Buffett, is set to expand into Pakistan through a partnership with Hub Power’s subsidiary, Mega Motor.

This collaboration aims to establish Pakistan’s first electric vehicle assembly plant by 2026, located near Karachi’s Port Qasim. Hubco CEO Kamran Kamal highlighted ambitions for Pakistan to become a key car exporter, with a focus on markets in Africa and South Asia. This marks BYD’s first foray into South Asia, following investment restrictions in India.

Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, emphasized the government’s push to transform the country into an export hub, targeting automotive exports. The BYD expansion is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative, further solidifying the growing Pak-China economic cooperation.

Chinese electric-car maker BYD’s expected expansion into Pakistan has raised hopes in the country that the Warren Buffett-backed company can help jump-start exports in the automotive manufacturing sector.

Pakistan’s biggest private electricity producer Hub Power (Hubco) said last month that its subsidiary Mega Motor was entering a partnership with the Tesla rival to set up the country’s first electric vehicle assembly plant by 2026.

BYD’s Pakistan plan would mark the company’s first venture into south Asia after being blocked in India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which has restricted Chinese investment.

Hubco’s chief executive Kamran Kamal said in an interview with the Financial Times that the ultimate goal was for Pakistan to start exporting vehicles from the plant near Karachi’s Port Qasim.

“We have big ambitions to be the leading carmaker in this country by the end of the decade,” said Kamal. “For any industry in Pakistan to be competitive, they should be focused on the export market.”

Pakistan’s finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said the government was encouraging BYD to export to markets in Africa and south Asia, including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Trade between India and Pakistan has been reduced since 2019 after a security crisis between the two countries.

“We want that Pakistan becomes an export hub, period,” Aurangzeb said in a separate interview with the FT. “Korean brands are here, the Japanese brands have been here . . . but the reality is we haven’t been exporting.”

BYD said details of its Pakistan plans had yet to be formally announced and declined to comment further.

The company’s expansion into south Asia comes as it is also establishing factories in Turkey, Hungary, Thailand and Brazil. BYD has also been scouting locations for a new factory in Mexico.

The carmaker is expanding its manufacturing footprint beyond China as countries impose increasing tariffs on Chinese exports, including on EVs, solar panels and wind turbines.

Tu Le, founder of consultancy Sino Auto Insights, said the aggressive international expansion plans would help BYD export to fast-growing markets despite tariffs in the US and Europe.

But he warned that BYD should not expect the same “unfettered growth” the company has enjoyed in China as it learns to manage factories in different countries.

“Chinese companies are used to having a lot of control. What they are going to find is that due to labour laws, different work ethics, different cultures, they’re going to have a lot less control than they normally would,” he said.

Hubco is a joint venture partner for a number of Chinese power projects established under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a $60bn infrastructure network that is part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The company has no prior experience manufacturing vehicles but it aims to use its extensive power generation network to set up EV charging infrastructure throughout the country of 240mn people, Kamal said.

The exact size of the investment and the types of models that will be assembled in the Karachi plant “are being discussed”, he said.

Hubco said it expected to sell 100,000 BYD plug-in hybrid and fully electric cars in Pakistan a year by 2030, representing about a quarter of total cars sold in Pakistan, according to the company’s estimates.

 

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Assemblers plan rolling out EVs, plug-in hybrids​

Aamir Shafaat Khan
October 13, 2024

KARACHI: In contrast to the introduction of the eagerly awaited locally assembled petrol-driven 660cc Suzuki Every Saturday after the discontinuation of the iconic Bolan, several new and existing players gear up to launch locally assembled plug-in hybrid and pure electric vehicles, including motorcycles.

MG Pakistan is all set to launch MG HS Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV) in Q42024. This vehicle runs on a pure electric motor and a petrol engine. The battery can be charged on idle as well, unlike conventional hybrid vehicles where no external charging is required.

MG has been leading the introduction of innovation and specification in the otherwise conservative Pakistani market.

“MG HS PHEV will be the first completely knocked down (CKD) PHEV in Pakistan and its unveiling is planned in Pakistan Auto Parts Show 2024 to be held in Lahore in the last week of this month,” MG Pakistan General Manager Marketing Asif Ahmed told Dawn.

Suzuki launches much-anticipated successor of Bolan

He said that the MG HS, with 50 kilometres per litre mileage, is further expected to increase the market share of New Energy Vehicle (NEV), which currently stands at approximately 50 per cent in the Mid SUV segment.

MG HS has taken Pakistan by storm in 2021. The iconic British brand started producing CKD from its plant in Lahore in December 2022. MG claims to be the second-highest EV brand on Pakistani roads. The most battery-powered electric vehicle (BEV) in Pakistan is the Audi eTron.

Chief Executive Officer of eTurbo Motors, Sheikh Osama Nadeem, said the company is launching an electric motorcycle next week in Karachi.

“Our total investment in the project is Rs500 million at a six-acre land purchased for future plant expansion,” he said.

He said the company has strategically partnered with a foreign joint venture to bring advanced technology and expertise to our project without mentioning any details on foreign partners.

“We will share details shortly.”

The plant in the Site area is rolling out 300-400 e-motorcycles per month, and it can be expanded to 1,500-2,000 units per month by next year, he said, adding that more models in the production line have also been planned this year.

The new electric bike project carries 20-30pc localisation and “we plan to fully localise the product in coming years,” he said.

He claimed to have obtained a licence from the Engineering Development Board (EDB) for the local assembly and the operation meets all regulatory standard requirements for assembling electric bikes.

“Currently, we have over 50 employees working in our plant, and our production is increasing. We are also opening new positions, with plans to create over 150 jobs in the coming year,” Osama said.

On EV bike market saturation in the next one to three years, as around 30 companies are marketing e-bikes, he believed that the E-turbo EV motorcycle market still has significant growth potential despite the number of new entrants. “We focus on innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction, which we think will set us apart and sustain demand even as the market evolves,” he added.

He said charging infrastructure and public awareness are critical factors for EV adoption. “We are seeing progress with more stations being developed and increased awareness campaigns. With continued investment and government support, these barriers will significantly reduce in the next couple of years, accelerating EV motorcycle sales,” he added.

Dewan Farooque Motors Ltd (DFML) informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday that it has successfully assembled Honri EV under toll manufacturing. The first lot of EVs has been dispatched to Eco Green Motors Ltd.

Regal Automobiles will soon start assembling the country’s first electric SUV (Seres vehicles) at its Lahore plant after recently getting a license from the EDB. The formal production launch is expected by the end of this month.

Every’s launch

Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd (PSMCL) has launched locally assembled Every 660cc. The price of VX and VXR models is Rs2.749m and Rs2.799m, respectively, an official of PSMCL said.

A display of Every along with a test drive will be available on Sunday at authorised showrooms across the country.

It is not clear whether the company has introduced the latest version available in the world or an old model has been launched. However, as per an old practice, local assemblers usually roll out old models.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2024