Honda sales decline 73pc, Dewan Motors 78pc in Dec

LAHORE - The month of Dec has witnessed a massive fall in sales of Honda Atlas, which recorded a decline of 73 per cent as compared to the last month sale mainly due to phasing out of the old model of Honda City as they look to launch their new model at the end of Jan. While, a complete halt in Dewan Motor was one of the reasons for their decline in sales by 77 per cent YoY.
Pakistan Automotive Manufacturing Association (PAMA) has released the figures for the local auto sales for December 2008, according to which the scenario of local auto sale on monthly basis was more depressing as unit sales declined by 55 per cent.
Cumulative auto sales (Cars and LCVs) once again recorded depressing numbers as they stood at 52,927 units for Jul-Dec 2008, depicting a fall of 40 per cent YoY.
Analysts said that decision to reduce production due to increase in production cost along with political and economic instability, increase in car prices and high rates of car financing are the key issues behind the decline in sales.
Syed Atif Zafar, an expert on auto industry, said that car sales showed dismal performance over last 6 months, depicting a decline of 48%YoY in 1H (Jul-Dec) FY09.
Decline in car sales of Honda Atlas and Pak Suzuki were the major contributors to the decline over the last month, as industry unit car sales stood at 2,221 units versus 5,193 units in Nov 2008 down 57%MoM.