The wave of price hikes has begun once again as 2020 draws to an end. While the how and why of it is still a mystery, it seems like the members of Pakistan Automotive Manufacturer’s Association (PAMA) have decided to review the price tags for its former bestsellers.
Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC) has increased the prices of the new Corolla along with the introduction of the X-package.
Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) has also decided to push up the prices of two of its Cultus variants and one variant of the Swift. As per the reports, the following prices will be effective from 1 December 2020.
| Variants | Old Price (PKR) | Revised Price (PKR) | Price Increase (PKR) |
| Cultus VXL | 1,900,000 | 1,970,000 | 70,000 |
| Cultus AGS | 2,030,000 | 2,130,000 | 100,000 |
| Swift Automatic w/ Nav | 2,175,000 | 2,210,000 | 35,000 |
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Until now, PSMC had announced seven price hikes for a variety of its vehicles over the year. The first price hike was announced on 1 January 2020, under which the prices of the entire PSMC car lineup were revised.
PSMC’s second price bump was on 2 July, in which it upped the prices of its entire bike lineup. This was followed by its third price bump on 6 July for the new Suzuki Alto. The fourth hike was announced a couple of months ago for the Bolan and the Ravi, and the fifth one took place in September when the prices of the motorbikes were revised.
The sixth price hike was in October in which the prices of the Alto, Wagon R and the Swift were revised, and the current price is the seventh within a year.
For the past few price hikes that occurred during the time of the COVID-19 lockdowns, PSMC blamed the depreciation of the local currency for the revision. Irrespective of the fact that the Pakistani rupee has recovered significantly against the US dollar, PSMC continues on with the price hikes.
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Note that PSMC had declared its eighth consecutive quarter in a loss upon the conclusion of the third quarter of CY 2020. While the automaker reported a loss of Rs. 136.38 million during the quarter, it did show a recovery of 88.30 percent as compared to the same period last year.
Although PSMC is already in hot waters as it has been reporting a low sales volume ever since the easing of lockdowns, it continues to irk car buyers by announcing multiple price hikes without the introduction of new vehicles or improvements in the current lineup.
