Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Ltd has made an entry into international markets by exporting 38 units of its 1.2L Honda City to Japan. Despite this achievement, the company has expressed concerns over high input costs and the absence of supportive government policies that hinder large-scale exports.
During its analyst briefing on Wednesday, the company said that while discussions with authorities are ongoing, Pakistan lags behind regional competitors like Thailand and Indonesia, which have more favorable conditions for automotive exports. This makes it challenging for Pakistan to compete effectively in the global automotive market.
According to AKD Securities, Honda Atlas reported a 42% year-on-year increase in its topline for the fiscal year MY25, reaching Rs78 billion, up from Rs55 billion in the previous year. The growth was driven by a 53% rise in unit sales, reaching 16,100 units compared to 10,534 in MY24.
The company’s gross margins also showed improvement, rising to 8.5% in MY25 from 8.2% in MY24, aided by currency stability during the period. Honda Atlas posted a profit of Rs2.7 billion (EPS: Rs19.0), up from Rs2.3 billion (EPS: Rs16.3) in MY24, marking a 16.6% increase.
The company’s sales mix for the Honda City model comprises 75% of the 1.2L variants and 25% of the 1.5L variants. It reported a 67% increase in overall passenger car market volumes, reaching 125,533 units compared to 75,227 units in MY24, reflecting improving macroeconomic conditions. The company’s management forecast a 40-50% increase in sales volume for MY26.
The company has also pre-launched a hybrid version of the HR-V, offering test drives at dealerships. The management expects to sell 400-500 units of the HR-V hybrid per month and is absorbing the NEV levy tax to keep the price competitive.
Localization levels for Honda’s models stand at 64% for Civic, 74% for City, 52% for BR-V, and 61% for HR-V.Â
However, management expects margins to face pressure due to currency devaluation and the exclusion of hybrid vehicles from the upcoming NEV policy, which offers incentives only for electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (P-HEVs).
Honda Atlas also noted that the recent tariff rationalization will have little impact on its sales volume, as 90% of its imports are in the 1000cc segment.
