Al-Haj Automotive has also joined the latest price hike movement by increasing the price of Proton Saga. Prior to this, Proton had already increased the price of X70, which now starts from Rs. 5.4 million.
The company has implemented the new prices such that those who book Saga before May 10 will pay 50 percent of the increased rate, while those who book cars from May 11 and onwards, will pay 100 percent of the hiked rate.
Like the price hikes from Kia and Changan, the one from Proton Saga is also quite sharp. Still, Saga is the cheapest sedan in Pakistan that has the elements to become one of the top sellers in the local car market.
Another domino effect of price hikes is imminent, following the first move from Kia Pakistan and Toyota Indus Motor Company (IMC). According to industry analysts, the price hikes will range up to 15 percent.
Research analyst at Ismail Iqbal Securities, Muqeet Naeem told the media that Honda will only increase the prices of City and BR-V since it just launched the new Civic having considered the market situation beforehand.
He added that Suzuki will only increase its car prices marginally due to a recent massive increase in November last year. Naeem further foresaw that Hyundai will also announce a price hike due to mounting cost pressures.
He added that these price hikes, along with State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP’s) sanctions on car financing will cause the demand to shrink. Contrarily, Chairman of All Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APMDA) HM Shehzad said that the car demand will continue to rise while the delivery time will lengthen further despite the price surge.
Market sources agreed with the latter, adding that the car prices always climb around the time of the national election, with sales remaining unaffected.The advent of new vehicles has also sparked the interest of many buyers, who now prefer brand new cars instead of used ones. Based on that, Shehzad’s opinion makes more sense.
Source: This news is originally published by propakistani