Fall in demand: Toyota plant closed for 15 days

KARACHI: The Indus Motors Company (IMC), which makes Toyota vehicles in the country, has decided to shut down its plant at bin Qasim for 15 days in September. Sources said there would be 15 non productive days in September while in August there were 12 such days and eight in July.

Sources said the plant would remain closed due to fall in demand. They said sales of vehicles declined 41pc in the first two months of the current fiscal year and the dealers throughout the country had piled up unsold inventory of over 3,000 vehicles.

Sources blamed many factors for unsold cars, including new federal excise duty (FED), devaluation of rupee, more customs duty on imported parts and raw material and spike in bank interest rates.

Giving figures, sources said Toyota Corolla production and sales dropped to 5,308 units and 3,708 units respectively in July-August period. Last year, during the same period, 8,804 units of Corolla were produced and 8,770 units were sold.

Also, last year, 1,383 units of Toyota Hilux were produced and 1,292 units were sold. But during the same period this year, only 793 units of Hilux were produced and 716 units were sold, showing major reduction in production and sales.