A new technical committee has been formed by Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) on the recommendations of National Standards Committee (NSC) to revise quality and safety standards of locally assembled vehicles.The committee has been formed as a part of the efforts taken by the government to improve quality of locally assembled vehicles and to bring them in compliance with international standards.
PSQCA, a department of Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has been assigned the task of checking the quality of products covered in the Compulsory Certification Marks Scheme.Currently, the authority cannot do so as PS:4845 does not fall under the Certification Marks Scheme. Therefore the committee established has been assigned the task to revise the PS: 4845 and include it in the Certification Marks Scheme. This standard will include all 4 wheeler vehicles including Cars, Vans, Pickups, Jeeps and Hi-Roofs, etc. Upon inclusion of the standard PS: 4845, PSQCA will be responsible for checking the quality of vehicles as per prescribed standards.
Sources further stated that all car manufacturers in the private sector claim to follow their own set of standards hence the government’s role is to provide a policy framework to ensure the quality of cars being produced by them.
Furthermore, government’s initiatives in Automotive Development Policy 2016-21 are focussed towards attracting new investors/players. This is likely to create competition for the existent players who will be forced out of the market if they do not work to upgrade the quality of vehicles being assembled or introduce new models into the market.
