Pakistanis are buying cars like crazy. Local assemblers and importers of used Japanese cars are fighting tooth and nail until it lasts

Pakistanis are buying cars like crazy. Recent data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) has revealed that January 2026 recorded the highest automotive sales in the past 43 months. The total number of cars sold in January 2026 was 23,055 units. Of these, 18,602 (around 80 percent) are passenger cars such as sedans, hatchbacks, and EVs. The other 20 percent consist of light commercial vehicles, vans, jeeps, and SUVs. 

While these numbers are not historically high, they mark a recovery after a sustained slump that began in 2023 when the rupee crashed and the dollar soared.

And this isn’t even the full picture. PAMA is the largest industry association for automotives in Pakistan, but they do not count Lucky Motors (KIA and Peugeot cars) among their ranks, meaning their sales are missing from this data. On top of this, these numbers do not include the sale of imported used cars coming mostly from Japan into Pakistan — and their slice of the pie is probably more than you think. Over the past year Japanese refurbished cars coming to Pakistan have increased exponentially. In fact, import data combined with excise registration numbers reveal that nearly 20% of all auto sales from December 2024 to December 2025 were imported used cars.

This is a monumental shift from where the auto industry was only a few years ago. Between 2020-23, the percentage that used cars occupied in Pakistan's auto market was around 7.5%. The fact that the sale of locally assembled cars have increased over the past year in tandem with the sale of used Japanese cars indicates a market that has grown and accommodated all kinds of players after a period of stagnation.