Pakistan is an unusual place for cars. You can buy a new vehicle, drive it for years, and sell it at a higher price: Muhammad Rameez, head of sales at Foundation Securities Pvt., says he purchased a new hatchback from the local unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. in 2019. After driving it 12,000 kilometers in Karachi, Rameez got it valued three years later at 65 percent higher than the original price. A Toyota Corolla purchased new for 2 million rupees ($8,766) five years ago can be sold in the used car market for 3.2 million rupees today, an increase of 60 percent before adjusting for inflation, according to Karachi-based Optimus Capital Management Pvt…
…Middlemen, often referred to as “investors,” buy new automobiles in bulk and sell them at a premium. Pakistani customers paid that surcharge, known locally as “own money,” on 90 percent of vehicle sales for a total of 170 billion rupees over the last five years, according to the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). “The investor’s objective is short-term financial gain,” says Muhammad Faisal, president of the automotive division of Lucky Motor Corp., which sells Kia and Peugeot automobiles. “When we speak to other global manufacturers, they are amazed that people give extra money to buy a car”… More here >
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Honorary contributors to DesPardes: Adil Khan, Ajaz Ahmed, Anwar Abbas, Arif Mirza, Aziz Ahmed, Bawar Tawfik, Dr. Razzak Ladha, Dr. Syed M. Ali, G. R. Baloch, Hasham Saddique, Jamil Usman, Jawed Ahmed, Ishaq Saqi, Khalid Sharif, Majid Ahmed, Masroor Ali, Md. Ahmed, Md. Najibullah, Mushtaq Siddiqui,, Mustafa Jivanjee, Nusrat Jamshed, Shahbaz Ali, Shahid Hamza, Shahid Nayeem, Shareer Alam, Syed Ali Ammaar Jafrey, Syed Hamza Gilani, Shaheer Alam, Syed Hasan Javed, Syed M. Ali, Tahir Sohail, Usman Nazir
