Auto sector posts 43.02pc growth in 7 months

ISLAMABAD: The production of jeeps and cars witnessed growth of 43.02 percent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period last year.

As many as 110,035 jeeps and cars were manufactured during July-January (2015/16) compared to 77,176 made during the seven months of the last fiscal; showing a surge of over 43 percent according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data.

The Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) also witnessed positive growth of 137.40 percent, as the production increased from 10,841 units last year to 25,736 units during the current year.

The production of motorcycles increased by 18.12 percent during the period under review; as 1,182,653 units were manufactured during the seven month period compared to 1,001,191 units during the corresponding period of last year.

In the period under review, bus output increased 68.34 percent as 569 units were manufactured compared to 338 units during the same period last fiscal. Truck production too witnessed growth by 34.94 percent from 2,098 units last year to 2,831 units in the current fiscal year.

However, the production of tractors declined by 46.94 percent during this period, as output was 14,482 compared to the previous 27,295.

On year-on-year basis, the production of jeeps and cars increased by 24.02 percent, going up from the production of 17,406 units in January 2016 compared to the production of 14,035 units in January 2015. The production of LCVs increased from 2,082 units during January 2015 to 4,313 units during January 2016, showing growth of 107.16 percent.

Motorcycle output increased by 23.40 percent during January 2016, as production stood at 179,853 units in January 2016 compared 145,752 units in January 2015,

Bus and truck productivity was up 89.19 percent and 51.69 percent respectively, compared to the same month of last year. As many as 70 buses and 505 trucks were manufacture during January 2016 compared to 37 and 333 made last January.

However, the PBS data revealed that tractor productivity decreased by 55.01 percent in the first month of this calendar year, as output was recorded at 1,418 units compared to 3,152 in January 2015.

The country’s Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector has witnessed growth of 4.12 percent during the first seven months of 2015/16 compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The Quantum Index Numbers (QIM) of LSM industries was recorded at 128.51 points during July-January (2015 /16) against 123.42 points during the same period of last year.