Pak Suzuki Jacks Up Prices Yet Again

Pak Suzuki has increased its car prices by Rs42,000 for Wagon R VXR, and by Rs.35,000 for Alto (VXR and AGS), Wagon R VXL and Swift (MT and AT). The new prices will come into effect from the 15th of October.

Local manufacturers claim that Pak Suzuki raised its car prices due to an increase in the US Dollar price. However, this price hike is difficult to explain when actually the US Dollar to Pakistani Rupee exchange rate has reduced in the past few weeks. The Pakistani Rupee has recovered its value and stands at 163.06 against the US Dollar today, making these sudden price hikes by both Suzuki and Toyota quite alarming.

Here is how much it will cost you to get these Suzuki cars now:

This is the second time the price has increased for Suzuki Alto this year. In July 2020, the price of the base model of Alto VX was increased by Rs. 63,0000. This raised Alto VX’s price to Rs.11,98,000

Suzuki also put on a notification earlier that customers who had already booked this car with the full payment do not have to pay the price increase.

While the company has not given a reason for this price hike, it can be observed that prices have been increased for only those Suzuki models which are performing well in terms of sales.

Monthly passenger car sales data by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) shows that sales of Suzuki Swift, Wagon R and Alto increased, while sales for Suzuki Cultus decreased during the last three months. Hence, the price hike is only observed for Suzuki Swift, Wagon R and Alto, which depict an increasing trend in sales volume.

While these three Suzuki cars perform well in terms of sales, it is important to assess whether this price hike is justified amidst a pandemic.