Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan on Friday announced the extension of its plant shutdown till May 15, 2023.

In a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company wrote “further to our letter dated April 13, 2023, and considering the current economic situation of Pakistan whereby the government resorted to stringent measures including restricting opening of LCs for import of CKD kits, raw materials and halting foreign payments, the company’s supply chain has also been severely disrupted by such measures”.

“As a result, the company is not in a position to continue with its production and ultimately has continued to shut down its plant from May 1, 2023 to May 15, 2023.”

The firm has been observing a plant shutdown since March 9, 2023.

It planned to restart production on April 1 but extended the shutdown till April 15 initially and then till April 30.

According to latest data released by Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), Honda Atlas reported month-on-month and year-on-year decline in sales by 49% and 77%, respectively, as it sold just 835 units in March 2023.

Pakistan’s auto sector remains engulfed in various crises, with a number of automakers announcing complete or partial shutdowns in recent months citing various reasons including reduced demand in the market and the company’s inability to maintain inventory as they struggle to secure LCs.

The country remains short of much-needed dollars to meet its import needs and other external payment commitments. Foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased $30 million, clocking in at $4.46 billion as of April 21, data released on Thursday showed.

Meanwhile, the government remains engaged in trying to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive the stalled Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, which if approved by its board would release a funding tranche of over $1 billion.

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Tulukan Mairandi Apr 28, 2023 05:24pm
Great. Better buy donkeys
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test Apr 28, 2023 05:57pm
I wish that these foreign assembling plants stay out of our market of 250 million people. These foreign companies will be only allowed to work in Pakistan if they manufacture all their vehicles from A-Z in Pakistan using local resources and local talent. If they ever thought of coming to Pakistan again with assembling in mind we should better kick them out of our country before these companies land in Pakistan by elite backing.
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Farhan Bashir Apr 29, 2023 09:08pm
I visited Honda Atlas Showroom in Gulberg III main market for bike maintenance . Totally untrained and unprofessional staff is working there. They don't have proper training, gadgets and tools to repair customer bikes. 30 minutes of work is being performed in 3 to 4 hours. To open out the parts of bike with tools, using HAMMER
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Farhan Bashir Apr 29, 2023 09:09pm
I visited Honda Atlas Showroom in Gulberg III main market for bike maintenance . Totally untrained and unprofessional staff is working there. They don't have proper training, gadgets and tools to repair customer bikes. 30 minutes of work is being performed in 3 to 4 hours. To open out the parts of bike with tools, using HAMMER
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Ahmad Ali Shah Apr 29, 2023 09:33pm
Due to decrease in sales of cars, the tax collection on new car purchase by customers shall also be reduced retrospectively. Consequently, the situation shall hamper overall tax collection targets. Decrease in sales does not generate loss for car sellers but also the national exchequer. The government should therefore withdraw the additional taxes as only currency depreciation is enough to elevate the prices. It is not understandable that why the government is not taking remedial steps to increase in tax collection. Contrary, the government is trying to stop sales by imposing further taxes on already expensive articles due to currency devaluation.
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