According to Sazgar Engineering, which distributes Haval and BAIC vehicles in Pakistan, its four-wheeler production facility has been temporarily shut down. As a primary reason for this decision, the company cites stricter measures designed to minimize the importation of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits and raw materials for vehicles.
As a result, the company’s supply chain has been disrupted, and production has been temporarily suspended until March 4th, 2023.
Companies have announced non-production days as a result of Pakistan’s auto industry’s struggles with inflation and declining car sales. Sadly, this led to the loss of between 250,000 and 300,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Thousands of people have been affected by the industry’s downturn and lost their jobs, which has made the country’s current high levels of inflation more challenging. Pak Suzuki has already observed 40 days without production over the previous six to seven months, compared to 53 days of inactivity at Indus Motors Company since August 2022.
Toyota and Suzuki alone have announced a total of 19 days of non-production in 2023 as the combined sales of all automakers have dropped by 40–50%. Due to the decline in demand for vehicles, thousands of jobs have been lost as a result of these closures, which has had a significant impact on employment.
The auto industry in Pakistan is struggling greatly and the situation is dire. To help the sector and safeguard jobs in it, the government must take action. Finding a way to lessen these effects is crucial because the current policies have severely damaged the supply chain and forced production facilities to temporarily close.
In order to safeguard jobs and support economic growth in Pakistan, the stakeholders in the industry must come together and address the issues facing the sector.
