Suzuki remains market leader, halts further bookings!

Even with all the economic uncertainty and dollar’s appreciation against the Pakistani rupee, one auto company in Pakistan that seems to do just fine is Pak Suzuki. The carmaker has reported it sold a little over 16000 vehicles in the month of June breaking its own record of selling more than 15000 vehicles in the month of December of 2021.

The new Suzuki Alto as well as the Cultus has been the star of the company. Although some people have been suggesting it is the new Swift that has contributed the most in last month’s sales, one must keep it in mind that it is a new vehicle and is priced at a rather higher side. So it is early to say that the new Swift has sold well. The exact figures of each model are yet to be released by the company.

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And with that in mind, there are also rumours that the company is pondering discontinuing the current Suzuki Cultus in favour of the new Swift. The current Cultus is placed in a way pricing wise that it can hurt the sales of the new Swift. And right now the company is definitely more inclined to sell the new Swift and make it a potential hit among the Pakistani auto consumers. The company feels the Cultus is cannibalising the potential sales of the newly launched Swift. 

It is also a fact that the new Swift is maybe the most advanced and loaded hatchback the company has officially launched in the country. If you look at the past, it is pretty obvious that Suzuki made its name selling cheap and stripped out hatchbacks. But now one can argue that the company wants to move away from this image to someone that offers quality and premium products like the current Swift.

The Public Accounts Committee during its session held in June specifically targeted Suzuki cars for their poor quality, lack of features, and high price. Suzuki’s representative in the meeting boasted that the company has orders of 20,000 vehicles which was not taken too pleasantly by the committee members. The PAC Chairman pointed out that Suzuki cars do not even have airbags which is one of the most basic safety features you’d expect from a modern car.

On the other hand, even with all the criticism, it is a fact that their cars sell like hotcakes. Although people are well aware of their shortcomings, they prefer Suzuki cars thanks to the name the company has built over the years. Having orders of almost 20,000 vehicles at a time is no joke. Company has long delivery times which was also pointed out by the Public Accounts Committee.

And this is pretty evident from the fact that Suzuki issued a countrywide circular to all its dealers, cars and motorcycles, to halt further bookings of vehicles from 1st July, 2022. This usually happens when the company is having troubles completing the already booked orders, as well as when the company senses that there is going to be more changes and uncertainty in the economic landscape of the country.

With being the market leader in sales, and rapidly changing economic as well as political conditions of the country, let’s see how the company maintains its lead. Let us know what you think about the company and its cars in the comments section below.