Honda Motors joined a growing list of international auto majors to shut or suspend production in the crisis-hit Pakistan, with Honda Atlas Cars –the assembler of Honda automobiles in the South Asian country – announcing its move to close its plant in the country.
The company cited severe disruption for its decision, according to a Geo News report.
The decision comes amid the ongoing financial crunch in Pakistan.
Earlier, Pak Sukuzi Motor Company (PSMC) and Indus Motor Company (IMC), the assembler of Toyota-brand automobiles in Pakistan, also announced to completely shut down its production plant.
Honda Atlas Cars said that it will not be able to continue with its production and will be shutting down its plant for the remainder of the month.
Blaming the current economic situation, it said that the plant will remain closed from March 9 to 31.
In a notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the automaker said the decision has been taken as the company’s supply chain has been severely disrupted.
“Considering the current economic situation of Pakistan whereby the government resorted to stringent measures including restricting the opening of LCs (letter of credits) for import of CKD (completely knocked-down) kits, raw materials and halting foreign payments, the company’s supply chain has also been severely disrupted by such measures,” the company said, ANI reported.
Pakistan’s economic growth is slowing as one of the highest inflation rates — and higher borrowing costs — erodes demand and a plunge in the rupee makes the import of key automobile parts more expensive.
The auto industry in Pakistan
The country’s auto industry, which is heavily dependent on imports, has been caught in the midst of an exchange-rate crisis.
The auto sector remains engulfed in various crises, with a number of automakers announcing complete or partial shutdowns in recent months citing various reasons including reduced demand in the market and the company’s inability to maintain inventory as companies struggle to secure LCs.
The industry is also hit by import restrictions the coalition government had introduced to control the trade deficit, reported Geo News.
Not only has the production activity affected, the companies also raised the prices of their CKD models which dented people’s already low purchasing power.
The country remains short of much-needed dollars to meet its import and other external payment commitments.
The central bank’s foreign exchange reserves stand at just over $3.8 billion, barely enough for a month of essential imports.
Pakistan, however, is reportedly due to get a boost as a loan inflow from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) makes its way to the State Bank of Pakistan’s forex reserves.
Its government is also trying to woo the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to revive the stalled Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, which if approved by its board would release a funding tranche of over $1 billion.
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