KARACHI: Sales of locally assembled cars (passenger cars and light commercial vehicles) in September 2014 jumped 14% year-on-year (YoY) to 12,693 units, compared to 11,166 units sold in September 2013.

The increase was largely driven by the newly-launched Toyota Corolla, which achieved sales of 4,358 units (up 106% YoY) during the period, according to a Global Research report.

Decline on a quarterly basis

However, on a cumulative basis, car sales posted a decline of 3% YoY to 31,899 units during the first three months (July to September) of fiscal year 2015, in contrast to 32,841 units sold in the first three months of fiscal year 2014.

The increase in advance taxes for non-filers on the purchase of new vehicles, and the pre-launch phase of the new Corolla model during July 2014 resulted in an overall decline in sales volume during the period, the report added.

The auto policy draft

While industry volumes are picking up, news reports indicate that under the draft auto policy, the rate of duty on Completely Knocked-down (CKD) has been slashed by 7.5% points to 25%, while the age limit for import of used Completely Built Units (CBU’s) has been maintained at three years, BMA Capital report said on Tuesday.

This, if enforced, is likely to bode well for the auto industry since a decline in duty may persuade assemblers to decrease vehicle prices thereby improving volumetric outlook, the report added.