Car Sales up 29% in March 2022
Car sales of local assemblers are likely to grow by 29% to 25,720 units in March 2022.
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The sales stood at 20,009 units during the same month last year, led by Pakistan Suzuki (PSMC).
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Barring PSMC, sales growth may slow down at 9%.
Our estimates include provisional sales of major local players listed on the PSX, Sherman Research said.
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Company-wise data shows PSMC is likely to post exceptional sales growth of 48% on yearly basis to 15,000 units in March 2022.
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The main contributing factor is the growing demand for low-end category cars, especially Alto.
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The main reasons are the rising price differential versus high-end vehicles and fuel efficiency after a spiking in oil prices.
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Honda Atlas Cars (HCAR) is likely to register sales of 3,650 up 16%YoY.
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The new variant City is to follow it whereas the company’s flagship new Civic is also on roads that supported volumes.
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Similarly, sales of Indus Motors (INDU) may post a growth of 6% to around 7,070 units — the highest monthly sales ever.
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The major reason behind this growth is a rebound in sales of the company’s flagship brand ‘Corolla’.
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On a sequential basis, INDU and HCAR sales are likely to remain upbeat by posting growth of 53% MoM and 33%MoM respectively.
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It is due to the low base effect as sales remained muted in the previous month amid supply constraints.
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INDU’s sales are likely to rebound due to better sales of Corolla while HCAR may phase out of the civic old model.
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On a cumulative basis (1QCY22), car sales to grow by 25%YoY in March 2022.
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PSMC car sales may grow by 31%YoY, followed by HCAR (30%) and INDU (12%).
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Even though local car assemblers have recently raised car prices, rupee devaluation remains a concern in short term.
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Thus, if devaluation continues and international steel prices continue to remain firm, another price hike may be on the cards.
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However, so far, car sales have shown resilience and have remained unaffected by rising prices.
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Having said that, a hike in interest rate may affect car leasing eventually reducing demand going forward, Sherman Research said.Â
