Next month, Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) may observe non-production days (NPDs).
it has been confirming this from Shafiq Shaikh, Head of Public Relations at PSMC. “Presently commercial banks are not opening the letters of credit (LCs) and documents against payments (DPs) for automobile CKDs. Unavailability of CKDs and related raw material may result in plant shut down in August 2022”, Shaikh said.
According to Shaikh, Suzuki was able to avoid NPDs in July and plans to deliver orders booked until June. However, the policy’s continuation is contingent on the normalization of LCs and DPs in their upcoming talks with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
This comes just days after Asghar Ali Jamali, CEO of Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC), told a news source that IMC will offer customers the option of a refund or a three-month waiting period.
It was previously reported that the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) extended mandate over letters of credit for ckd imports had caused panic in the auto industry. In order to understand the severity of the delays, I inquired with local Suzuki dealerships about wait times on various Suzuki models and discovered the following:
August could be a bad month for the automotive industry. Along with PSCMs’ possible NPDs, there is speculation that IMC will also observe NPDs for two weeks in the first half of the month. It is unknown whether Honda will follow the other two Big 3 companies in making their decision, and whether this will become the industry standard for August. All of this could signal the end of Pakistan’s current renaissance in the automotive industry.
To read our blog on “Suzuki has unveiled a new model of Alto in Japan, named Alto Lapin LC,” click here
