Import of used cars surges by 259% in current financial year

The number of imported used cars continued to increase in Pakistan as during the eight months of current financial year, an unprecedented surge of 259 percent was recorded, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Thursday.

According to a report, from July 23, 2023 to February 24, 2024, as many as $166.5 million were spent on bringing used vehicles into the country.

Report says, in the first 8 months of the last financial year, $46.39 million were spent on the import of used vehicles.

On the other hand the experts says imports of used vehicles increased after State Bank of Pakistan eased import ban.

Locally produced vehicles are facing continuous increase in duties and taxes while rising taxes and duties are a major challenge for domestic carmakers, experts said.

However, the report said an increase of 680 percent in the number of used vehicles has been recorded in the 8 months of this financial year.

The experts said that not less than 16500 used vehicles have been imported in 8 months of this financial year.

In the first 8 months of last financial year, used vehicles were 2100 units, reports said.

The report further said that Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) vehicles are used by local automakers and 23 percent decrease in CKD units has been seen in 8 months of this financial year.

Taxes and duties and rising cost of raw materials have significantly reduced the sales of local automakers, reports concluded.

Reporter: Ashraf Khan