According to a media report, Pak-Suzuki Motor Company has sought permission from the Pakistan Government to import motor parts for the Alto model car from India. The company wants to import parts from India in order to revive the production of the Alto which has been discontinued in Pakistan since July this year. Production of Alto had to be discontinued because Pak-Suzuki has converted all its models to Euro-II standards; however, Alto's “completely knock down” (CKD) kits that meet Euro-II standards are available only in India and importing them are not permitted by the Pakistan Government. Apart from Alto, many other cars that require Euro-II compliant engines have been discontinued since June this year.
Talking to the Pakistan daily newspaper, Dawn, a spokesman for Pak-Suzuki, Shafiq Ahmed said that 159 parts of the Alto which are Euro-II compliant are available only in India and the company has requested the government to allow import of these parts. He further said that nothing so far has, however, been done. He further pointed out that the parts sought from India were included in negative list and this was the basic reason for the discontinuation of Alto production in Pakistan. This negative list would be eliminated by December, Shaikh said.
The Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM) have also requested the Pakistan Government to remove these 159 parts from its negative list so that the production of Alto in the country can be restarted. The Commerce Ministry was earlier informed by PAAPAM that 76 small and medium sized auto parts makers with an annual loss of around Rs. 700 crore were affected owing to discontinuation in the production of Alto. PAAPAM said that over 12,000 people were employed with these organisations, which had made an investment of RS. 2 billion for the Alto.
Shaikh said that the company has already brought to the notice of the Commerce Ministry that India would provide a large market for exports and would be a cost effective source of imports. He further added that Pak-Suzuki was going through a bad time because of decreasing production and poor sales, which is mainly accounted to increasing use of imported vehicles in the country coupled and no permission to import Alto car parts from India.
