Indus Motor Company, the assembler of Toyota-brand vehicles in Pakistan, reduced its car prices by up to Rs1.31 million from October 24, according to a notification the company sent to its dealers on Tuesday.
The company said it has passed on impact of the rupee’s recent appreciation against the US dollar to its customers.
The move follows that of MG Motors and Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC) that also announced a reduction in prices of its vehicles.
Indus Motor’s price-decrease
Following the price reduction, the basic Yaris model 1.3MT LO has become cheaper by Rs100,000 or 2.2%. The new price is Rs4.399 million. Meanwhile, its top variant 1.5 CVT Aero will now sell for Rs5.849 million after a reduction of Rs120,000.
Toyota Corolla’s variant prices have been reduced between Rs200,000 and Rs250,000.
Toyota’s pick-up Revo trucks have become cheaper between Rs450,000 and Rs790,000.
Meanwhile, the prices of Fortuner’s top variants – the Legender and GRS – dropped below Rs20 million after a reduction of Rs1.13 and Rs1.19 million, respectively.
The highest price-decrease is seen in Fortuner G4x2 Petrol STD, which will now sell for Rs14.499 million after a reduction of Rs1.31 million or 8.3%.
Pakistan’s auto sector heavily relies on imports, and car prices in the country witnessed a significant increase over several months due to rupee’s record depreciation against the dollar.
The rupee even reached a record low of Rs307.1 against the dollar in the inter-bank market on September 5. Since then, it has significantly recovered and is now hovering around the Rs279-280 level.
The currency appreciation came in line with the caretaker government’s action against smugglers and hoarders.
Earlier, other than rupee’s depreciation impact, the auto sector was also hit by the previous government’s decision to put restrictions on imports to save depleting foreign exchange reserves.
Additionally, higher finance costs and massive increase in car prices also reduced consumer demand.
In the first quarter of FY24, car sales in Pakistan stood at 20,983 units, down 40% as compared to the same period the previous year.
“The automobile industry in Pakistan is facing demand challenges, primarily driven by high prices, costly auto financing, and a surge in taxes, resulting in a YoY decline in sales,” Deputy Head of Research, JS Research, Waqas Ghani told Business Recorder earlier.