Master Motor to kick-start local car production from next week

KARACHI: Master Motor Limited, an authorised dealer of Chinese auto brands in Pakistan, has geared up efforts to kick-start local production of light commercial vehicles by the next week to cater to local demand at a faster pace, a senior official said on Saturday.

Chief Executive Officer of Master Motor Danial Malik said the locally-assembled brands: Changan M-8, Changan M-9, and Changan Karvaan would hit the production from next week.

Master Motor is a joint venture between Master Motor Corporation and Changan International Corporation with equity partnerships of 70 and 30. “This is the first joint venture in Pakistan with a global brand to manufacture cars in Pakistan,” Malik said, addressing a Pakistan Auto Parts Show at the expo centre.

Master Motor set up the auto plant with a production capacity of 30,000 vehicles per year within a record time of 13 months. The modern facility is designed to achieve phase-wise automation, with the last phase resulting in full automation by 2025.

Malik said all the three models are already imported and sold in Pakistan “and the response has been quite encouraging”. “All our vehicles come with a standard warranty of three years or 60,000 kilometers whichever comes first, so our customers own Changan with the peace of mind that we are here for them,” he added.

Changan is the largest selling auto brand in China for 10 years in a row, touching annual volume of 2.8 million with a wide range of light commercial, sports utility and multipurpose vehicles and passenger cars through joint ventures with manufacturers like Suzuki, Ford, PSA, Mazda, Bosch, Aisin and Schaeffler.

Changan M-8 is for those customers having smaller volumetric loading and for travelling in narrow city lanes. Changan M-9 aims to solve the problems of corporate and small and medium businesses. It comes with the most used size of cargo deck. Changan Karvaan van is a 7-seater 1,000cc van with dual AC which is ideal for long distance road trips. Master Motor’s chief said Changan passenger vehicles are equipped with standard safety features like anti-lock braking system, electronic stability control and driver and passenger airbags and several other features to make travelling safer.

“We want to play our role as a leading automotive manufacturer by producing vehicles with state-of-the-art automotive technologies in Pakistan at an affordable price range for the young and growing middle class,” he added.

“This collaboration brings together Master Group’s goodwill, engineering expertise, and local market leadership, along with Changan’s technological edge and production standards, to provide Pakistani consumers a choice of beautifully-designed high quality vehicles including Sedans, SUVs (sports utility vehicles), multi-purpose vehicles and LCVs (light commercial vehicles), promising a driving experience beyond expectations.”

Master Motor have started to select vendors and initiate the process of intensive localisation, which will help promote and uplift the local vendor industry and lower the cost of manufacturing to better compete in regional markets.