Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMC), the assembler of Suzuki motors in the country, has appointed Hiroshi Kawamura as Managing Director. The current director will step down from his role on May 26.

The automaker shared the development in a filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday.

“Masafumi Harano, Managing Director has/have ceased to be the Managing Director of the company w.e.f. 2023-05-26 and Hiroshi Kawamura has/have been appointed as Managing Director," the notice read.

The development comes days after PSMC recorded its highest-ever quarterly loss of Rs12.9 billion in the first three months of 2023 owing to decrease in sales and high finance cost.

The car manufacturing firm had booked a loss of Rs460.227 million in the same period last year.

“The result came below industry expectations due to higher than expected finance cost,” said Topline Securities in its note on Tuesday.

PSMC, a subsidiary of Japanese automaker Suzuki, is engaged in the assembling, progressive manufacturing and marketing of Suzuki cars, pickups, vans, 4x4s and motorcycles and related spare parts.

Meanwhile, the country’s auto sector, hugely dependent on imports, have been hit hard by the government’s decision to curb imports and restrict issuance of Letters of Credit (LC). Additionally, higher finance cost and massive increase in car prices have also reduced demand from consumers.

Pakistan’s auto industry reported car sales of 9,211 units in March, 62% higher on a month-on-month basis but still 66% lower compared to the number in March 2022, according to data shared by Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA).

Faced with an acute balance of payments crisis, Pakistan last year imposed restrictions on imports to prevent the outflow of US dollars.