ISLAMABAD: Indus Motors, the local manufacturer of Toyota vehicles has revealed plans for a substantial investment in Pakistan, signalling a boost to the country’s automotive industry.
According to the CEO of Indus Motors, Ali Asghar Jamali, the company would invest from $300 million to $400 million in Pakistan within four to five years. These kinds of investments could improve the production capabilities of the company and increase the supply of their vehicles on the Pakistani market.
CEO also commented on plans to produce electric vehicles (EV) in the country. Yet, he stressed that the government should create a more long-lasting automotive policy (10 years), unlike the present one (5 years) to stimulate EV use among Pakistani people.
“As the rest of the world is making great strides in adopting EV technology and it is the future of the automotive industry, we are ready to launch EVs in Pakistan too but we will require long-term policy stability for the same,” added Mr Jamali.
Furthermore, Jamali noted that the fast-growing auto-financing industry in Pakistan had doubled during the last three years due to lower interest rates. He proposed increasing the maximum limit of auto loans from PKR 3 million to PKR 10 million.
Improving exports can be achieved through increased local manufacture and the use of domestic raw materials. “We have to concentrate on local manufacture to cut down costs and improve exports,” Jamali added.
Moreover, Jamali recommended that the government make preferential trade arrangements with those nations importing cars from Pakistan so as to decrease taxes levied on Pakistani cars.
