LAHORE: Within a week of Atlas Honda and Yamah’s decision to increase prices across their portfolio, Suzuki and United Motorcycles have decided to join in on the price hikes. The price revisions mark the second and fourth upward price revisions by Suzuki and United Motorcycles respectively.
United’s new prices
The new prices across United’s motorcycle portfolio are as follows:
The price revision marks the fourth price increase by United in 2023. The previous increases occurred on February 1, February 16, and March 7.
Suzuki’s new prices
The new prices across Suzuki’s motorcycles portfolio are as follows:
This marks the second price increase by Suzuki for 2023 with the previous one occurring on February 9.
“We are compelled to pass on only a minimal portion of the adverse impacts through price increases. The auto industry is urgently seeking help and support from the Government to address this critical situation as soon as possible,” Shafiq Ahmed Shaikh, Head of Public Relations at Pak Suzuki Motor Co. Ltd, told Profit when asked about the increase in prices.
“As we are well aware, the Pak Suzuki plant is often closed due to restrictions on imports. As a result, there has been no production or sales, and Pak Suzuki has incurred huge losses of billions of rupees in some months. Despite the economic instability and uncertainty, Pak Suzuki has retained its employees and provided full support to vendors and dealers,” Shafiq continues.
“It is a critical time for everyone, including Pak Suzuki. Unfortunately, there is no information about how long these restrictions and instability will continue. High demurrage charges, inflation, increased overhead expenses, economic uncertainties, increased international, national, and local raw material and accessory costs, the worsening forex situation, and the failure to open LCs are all causing significant difficulties. This situation has made it very difficult for Pak Suzuki to maintain current selling prices,” Shafiq adds.
Why are prices continuously on the rise in 2023?
“The automotive industry is facing a perfect storm of challenges,” according to Muhammad Sabir Shaikh, Chairman of the Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers Chairman of the Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers
“The Rupee’s devaluation has created a currency crisis, and the absence of new letters of credit (L/Cs) has left the industry reeling. The production suspension by all bike and car assemblers has resulted in a supply drought, and the high prices and short supply of completely knocked down (CKD) units have put the brakes on sales,” Shaikh continues. “To add fuel to the fire, leasing costs have spiked, and both bike and car users are feeling the heat of high fuel costs,” Shaikh adds.
