KARACHI: Pakistan's car sales fell 12% in September from a year earlier, as uncertainty over a sales tax policy for hybrid vehicles kept companies from invoicing orders, industry data showed.
The Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association reported sales of 15,104 units for the month, down 12% from September 2025 and 3% from August 2026.
Despite the decline, cumulative sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 reached 50,480 units, up 19% from the same period a year earlier.
The drop was attributed to delayed clarity on the sales tax policy for hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which restricted invoicing by companies.
In its reporting, SAZEW, the distributor of Haval and Tank vehicles, gave combined sales figures for August and September. Those figures were split equally between the two months for this report.
Indus Motor Company was the only automaker to post a year-over-year sales increase in September. Its sales rose 31% from a year earlier and 3% from August to 4,142 units. The Corolla, Yaris and Cross models collectively rose 34% from a year earlier to 3,563 units, driving the gain. Sales of the Fortuner and IMV models increased 16% to 579 units.
Honda Atlas Cars sales declined 8% from a year earlier and 19% from August to 2,128 units. City and Civic sales totaled 2,021 units, up 2% from a year earlier but down 21% from the previous month. Sales of the BR-V and HR-V fell 68% from a year earlier but rose 34% from August, to 107 units.
Pakistan Suzuki Motor Company reported sales of 4,862 units, down 46% from a year earlier and 36% from August. Alto sales stood at 3,354 units, a 29% decline from a year earlier, while Cultus sales fell 68% to 138 units.
Hyundai Nishat Motors sales dropped 25% from a year earlier but rose 19% from August to 884 units.
Other segments fared better. Sales of two- and three-wheelers hit an all-time high of 202,502 units, up 27% from a year earlier and 14% from August.
Tractor sales rose 2.3 times from a year earlier and 73% from the previous month to 1,815 units. Truck and bus sales grew 13% from a year earlier and 7% from August to 933 units.
