Manufacturers and stakeholders in the motorcycle industry have urged the government to allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to begin producing economically viable plastic body bikes, as steel-framed bikes become increasingly out of reach for the average person.
According to Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers (APMA) Chairman Muhammad Sabir Shaikh, the federal government must pay immediate attention and allow SMEs in the motorcycle industry to manufacture plastic body scooties in collaboration with Chinese companies.
“It should also give the manufacturers the incentive of discounted taxes to facilitate them in low-cost production,” he said. Pakistani manufacturers could produce parts of plastic-framed bikes through joint ventures and technical collaboration agreements (TCAs) with Wuxi and Chongqing-based Chinese industry, he added.
Ismail Suttar, President of the Employers Federation of Pakistan (EFP), shared these sentiments. “The government should encourage bike-related SMEs to produce plastic-body scooties through leveraging technical joint ventures with Chinese companies,”.
“In Pakistan, people always opt for cheaper transport and motorcycle is one such option. Therefore, the government should engage with the Chinese government and invite investors from its bike industry to invest in Pakistan,” shaikh added.
Furthermore, joint ventures and TCAs with Chinese companies should be established in Pakistan for the production of plastic body parts for scooties, electric bikes, and main frames for these motorcycles.
“People from the low-income groups need cheaper electric scooties to reduce their travel cost,” he stated.
“It is estimated that more than 700 new motorcycles come on roads of Pakistan every day,” said Suttar. “This mode of transport is mainly used by the common man and a considerable reduction in its manufacturing cost by using cheaper material will provide people with a low-priced two-wheeler.”
Through leveraging Chinese companies’ technical capabilities, bike-manufacturing SMEs in Pakistan could flourish by producing huge volumes at a low cost, he further added.
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