The current government of Pakistan increased the General Sales Tax (GST) on expensive goods by 25% in an effort to increase revenue. In accordance with SRO 297(1)/2023, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a new sales tax notification to confirm the existence of this additional tax.
However, some automobiles that weren’t previously covered by this tax application also apply, such as SUVs and CUVs with engines smaller than 1400cc. The local auto industry is consequently experiencing a new price increase, which has caused local auto manufacturers to pass the cost onto their customers.
All major automobile manufacturers, including Honda, Toyota, Suzuki, and Hyundai, have increased their prices by a significant margin due to the new tax.
Hyundai, one of the major car manufacturers in Pakistan, has also increased its prices for all variants of its Elantra, Sonata, and Tucson models.
New Hyundai Car Prices
The following are the new Hyundai car prices.
Elantra New Prices
The prices of all variants of the Hyundai Elantra have been increased.
- The Elantra 1.6 is now priced at Rs. 6,199,000, a jump of Rs. 350,000 from its previous price of Rs. 5,849,000.
- The Elantra 2.0 is now priced at Rs. 6,730,000, an increase of Rs. 381,000 from its previous price of Rs. 6,349,000.
Sonata New Prices
- The price of Hyundai Sonata 2.0L has also increased from Rs. 9,129,000 to Rs. 9,679,000, marking an increase of Rs. 550,000.
- The price of Sonata 2.5L has been raised from Rs. 9,939,000 to Rs. 10,530,000, an increase of Rs. 591,000.
Tucson New Prices
- Hyundai Tucson FWD, which previously cost Rs. 7,569,000, has now been priced at Rs. 8,030,000 after a price hike of Rs. 461,000.
- The price of the Tucson AWD has also increased by Rs. 490,000, from Rs. 8,169,000 to Rs. 8,659,000.
Many customers, who were planning to buy these vehicles before the price increase, were taken aback by the price increase. The auto industry has also been affected because the price increase is expected to cause a decline in car sales.
Overall, the new GST policy of the government is directly responsible for the rise in prices of Hyundai vehicles as well as those of other automakers. Although the government may have wanted to increase revenue, this has had a negative effect on the auto industry and the consumers who now have to pay more for the vehicles they want. Given these ongoing difficulties, Pakistan’s automobile industry’s future is still unclear.
