Automark Magazine July 2014 ver2

CONTENTS

Monthly AutoMark International July-2014 Tax burden on motorcycle buyers Exclusive Article by Ali Hassan

12-13

Hike in advance income tax for non filers may discourage on money, investors Encouraging vehicles' export Exclusive Article by Owais Khan

14-15

Chinkchees are on Road Exclusive Article by Mohammed Laman

16

Fuel Efficiency Exclusive Article by Mohammed Laman

17

Ramazan blessing for some bike makers Exclusive Report by Ashfaq Memon

19

Strong sales outlook for auto industry in 2014-2015 Exclusive Article by Owais Khan

20-21

Local Automotive news update

22-23

New Challenges- New Daewoo, JAC and KING LONG Models Company profile

25

Minister Ploumen hears first-hand about the good work being done by CBI in Pakistan Reception CBI Event Report

26

Panther Tyre achieves Brand of the Year Award-2013 Cooperate Achievement - Event update

31

Crown Group participated in “My Karachi-Oasis of Harmony� exhibition

32

Motorcycle Market Price List Car/Vehicles Market Price List Toyota Car Review

40 41 44

visit: www.automark.pk

July-2014 edition Volume 07, Issue 7

Pakistan’s premier magazine on automotive, engineering & energy sector

Monthly

AUTOMARK International 5pc Regulatory Duty will hike smuggling

Editor-in-chief Muhammed Hanif Memon Technical Editor Muhammad Shahzad

Advertising Manager Tahir Siddiqui

Circulation Manager

Advisors Imtiaz Rastgar CEO, Rastgar Group & CBI External Expert, Ex-chairman EDB Islamabad

Abdul Khaliq

Graphic Designer Salman Hanif

Web Master Murtaza Hanif

CONTRIBUTING IN THIS ISSUE M. Yousuf Shaikh Ali Hassan M. Owais Khan Mohammed Laman

Engr. IHT Farooqui GM Plant P.M. Auto Industries Hyderabad Muhammad Yousuf Shaikh Founder & Chairman Pakistan China Motorcycle Industry Council Karachi Syed Mansoor Rizvi Principal Officer M/s. CNH Services (Pvt) Ltd. Karachi Mr. Ashfaq Memon Senior Manager Marketing Memon Motors (Pvt) Ltd. Maker of Super Star Motorcycles Hyderabad

Postal Address Active Communications D-68, Block-9, Clifton,Karachi Tel : 021-32218526 Mobile: 0321-2203815 E-mail: automarkpk@gmail.com website: www.automark.pk

AutoMark Canada Office Managing Editor Mohammad Shahzad S.A.E. D.M.P. 41 Jordana Drive Markham (Toronto) Canada L3S 3N8 Phone: 905-472-8282 Email: automarkcanada@gmail.com AutoMark REGD: MC-1330 Published every month by M. Hanif Memon The views expressed by contributing writers and comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Monthly AutoMark magazine's management

The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has strongly criticised the imposition of a five percent regulatory duty on imported goods, saying it will promote smuggling and misuse of transit trade facility.

KCCI president Abdullah Zaki expressed dissatisfaction over the government’s failure to announce significant reduction in duty and taxes on imported goods in the new budget.

He said that instead of paying attention to the demands of business community for reduction of duties and taxes, the government imposed an additional five percent regulatory duty on all imported items.

This regulatory duty is also applicable on items being imported from countries with which Pakistan has signed free trade agreements, Zaki said, and this makes imported goods more costly and leaves no other option for importers but to avoid legal channels and turned to illegal sources, including the Afghan transit trade facility.

He said that in order to effectively deal with smuggling and to avoid misuse of the Afghan transit trade, the government must lower the duties and taxes on imported goods, particularly those which are more prone to smuggling. He said that local markets are over-flooded with smuggled goods, which are badly affecting the sale of indigenous products. He said that sellers of smuggled goods do not pay taxes and duties because they are not forced to comply with documentation procedures, and this makes locally manufactured goods uncompetitive.

Zaki said that the policy of high rates of taxes and duties encourages tax evasion and underinvoicing. Zaki said that the authorities should take appropriate fiscal and administrative measures, including sealing of borders, to curtail smuggling of incoming and outgoing goods over Pakistan’s borders with Afghanistan and Iran, encourage legal imports and local production, and safeguard the interest of indigenous industry and legal importers.

Exclusive Article on Bike Sector

by Ali Hassan

To avoid any possible fatigue at the registration office, most of the consumers take the help of agents in getting transfer of their bikes. However, the authorised dealers of leading bike assemblers also offer their help in completing the documentation process through the market agents In view of deteriorating public transport system, a number of consumers prefer purchasing two wheelers as it not only saves time but also proves economical on their day to day expenditure.

Thanks to the low priced Chinese assembled local bikes otherwise many consumers would have remained deprived for years from owning a two wheeler owing to costly Japanese assembled CD-70 which now costs around Rs 70,000 as compared to Rs 44,000 of Chinese bikes. The price difference between Japanese and Chinese CD-70cc has remained in the range of Rs 20,000-25,000 which is enough to attract a middle and low income group people.

Country’s roads sometimes give an impression that bike population has literally taken over other mode of transport especially the 70cc bikes.

Rising bike production coupled with existing population take away 60 per cent of country’s total petrol sales.

Anticipating robust growth in bike sales and to cash the situation, the Excise and Taxation Department, Motor Registration Wing, Government of Sindh made a clever move by increasing new registration lifetime tax on two wheelers by 50 per cent from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 from July 1, 2014.

Transfer of bike fee, which was Rs 125 per used bike, has risen to Rs 200 per bike. Interestingly, the unofficial rate of transfer of used bike costs at least Rs 1,500 if a buyer goes through the agents.

In case the buyer does not go to through the agent, the department officials and ETOs put a number of objections on the paper forcing the buyer to go through

the agents.

The Civic Centre, the main hub of bike and car registration office in Karachi, gives a look of fish market in which more than 100 agents on every floor welcome the bike and car owners.

To avoid any possible fatigue at the registration office, most of the consumers take the help of agents in getting transfer of their bikes. However, the authorised dealers of leading bike assemblers also offer their help in completing the documentation process through the market agents. In that case consumers take costly ride by paying agents’ fee to the authorised dealers.

In Karachi alone, around 13,000 bikes are registered every month at Excise and Taxation office, while in overall Sindh same number of bikes is also registered making the total to around 26,000 bikes per month in Sindh.

By calculating Rs 26,000 bike per month the government will fetch around Rs 39 million per month in terms of life time tax as compared to Rs 26 million prior to Budget 2014-2015.

Chairman Association of Pakistan Motorcycle Assemblers (APMA) Mohammad Sabir Shiakh said perhaps the buyers may not feel the pinch of giving additional Rs 500 per bike as he is paying the bike price ranging between Rs 44,000 to Rs 70,000 for 70cc.

However, the decision may affect motorcycle dealers as they sale bikes along with registration charges.

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 12

Customers are not ready to pay additional amount to the dealers. It will take time to settle the issue.

He said people were expecting reduction in sales tax by two per cent which would

Monthly AutoMark International

have lowered the bike prices followed by changes in customs duty. However, the new Budget remained silent on these two issues.

He said actually nobody in the government understands the motorcycle registration policy in Sindh and at the federal level.

The transfer charges on motorcycles plying on the roads for over 20 years should have been fixed at higher side or at least Rs 2,000 per bike. The transfer charges on bikes running on roads for 10 years should have been Rs 1,000 as transfer charges, Sabir said.

In case the government hands over the work of transfer of bikes to the private company then a lot of companies exist who are ready to provide Rs 1,000 on per bike transf er to the Sindh government on which the provincial government is charging only Rs 200 from July 1 as compared to Rs 125 ahead of Budget.

Registration charges of the bike is one per cent of total value followed by Rs 300 as number plate charges which the government does not provide to the customers. Another Rs 200 is charged for registration book while Rs 1,500 is lifetime tax. The cumulative amount of provincial taxes comes to Rs 2,500 on 70cc and around Rs 3,200 on 125-150cc bikes. Besides, another Rs 600 is also charged through agents, he said.

Since the import of heavy bikes has been thriving since rich and elite class have gone wild for heavy bikes (both new and used) and after every decade new generations make their entry in this category.

Sabir Shaikh said that the Sindh government should have introduced heavy registration charges on heavy bikes (used and new) as the buyers of these bikes can easily afford the amount.

According to figures of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) import of bikes have risen sharply to five million dollars in JulyMay 2013-2014 as compared to $1.13 million in same period last fiscal year. Besides used bikes imports, leading bike makers like Atlas Honda and Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMCL) have also introduced costly heavy bikes.

Touching upon other issues, APMA chief was unsatisfied over the marketing of bikes. There is a need to introduce a brand new concept in Pakistan for bike dealers’ education in areas like sales, service, spare parts and aft ermarket. Bike dealers need guidelines how to lure the consumers in getting bike through financing schemes at one shop.

Currently, dealers all over the country have become bankrupt and stuck in circular debt between assemblers, vendors and dealers. They are literally trying to survive und er a stiff competition.

A decade back, bike dealers used to hail from business families and in the last few years a mushroom growth of bike mechanics and people retired from public and private sector organizations have taken over authorized bike dealers in various markets.

A kind of responsibility used to prevail on the shoulders of bike dealers few years back after selling the two wheeler to the customers. Currently bike dealers having no experience and market expertise just sell the bike and avoid providing after sales service.

Japanese excels in marketing techniques especially Pak Suzuki which can be of great help for the new authorized dealers of Chinese bike assemblers.

Sabir said Chinese assemblers must realize that instead of boosting their production they must improve their quality of bikes and ensure after market facilities to the bike buyers. By doing this, their profit and business will improve and will get more revenues through low production volumes instead of higher volumes....

He said Chinese bike dealers should introduce the culture of 3S and 5S showrooms by providing sales, service and spare parts facility at one place.

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 13

Exclusive Article by Owais Khan

Hike in advance income tax for non filers may discourage on money, investors

Automechanika IstanbuL

Payment of adjustable advance tax will also be attracted at the time of transfer of registration or ownership of a private motor vehicle within five years from the date of first registration and the obligation of collecting the advance tax have been placed on the Excise and Taxation Department.

The government’s decision of making sharp increase in advance income tax for non-filers may augur well for the local industry as they believe that this will at least eliminate investors and curb premium on spot sales of locally assembled vehicles.

However, the decision may create some hassle for the local assemblers in view of cumbersome procedural requirements and data confirmation of non filer but the decision may put help in curbing the menace of on money which used to thrive on investors’ presence.

Some authorised dealers said there will be no problem for filer of income tax.

Out of total car sales in the country the share of corporate and government buying is 20-25 per cent followed by 1520 per cent of car sales based on leasing.

Buyers also include growers, farmers,

businessmen and traders. They said that some 30 per cent of buyers’ category is vulnerable which do not pay income tax and it is to be seen how they would behave over the government’s decision.

They said that the situation will clear in the next two months in terms of car sales.

Authorised dealers have issued the schedule for collecting advance income tax on purchase of new cars and jeeps relating to filers and non filers of income tax. The assemblers will collect the advance income tax as per decision taken in the Federal Budget 2014-2015 and will deposit the tax to the government treasury.

Pakistan Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMCL) had issued a circular to its authorized dealers on July 3, 2014 regarding ex-factory prices inclusive of advance income tax.

For example, the ex-factory price of Mehran VX and Mehran VXR is Rs 625,000 and Rs 678,000 on which Rs 10,000 advance income tax is fixed for filer and non filer. On Wagon R VX, Wagon R VXR and Wagon R VXL models whose price is Rs 899,000, Rs 1 , 0 4 9 , 0 0 0 a n d R s 1, 0 8 9 , 0 0 0 respectively, advance income tax on filer and non filer is Rs 20,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.

Advance income tax on Cultus VXR is Rs 20,000 for filer and Rs 25,000 for non filer. The price of Cultus VXR is Rs 1,034,000. The rate of advance income tax on Liana RXI and Liana 1RXI for filer is Rs 50,000 and Rs 100,000 for non filer. The price of Liana RXI and IRXI is Rs 1,365,000 and Rs 1,444,000 respectively.

Swift DLX, DX STD, AT, DLX NV and AT NV whose price is 1,282,000,

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 14

Monthly AutoMark International

The decision may create some hassle for the local assemblers in view of cumbersome procedural requirements and data confirmation of non filer but the decision may put help in curbing the menace of on money which used to thrive on investors’ presence.

1,418,000, Rs 1,330,000 and Rs 1,466,000 on which the dealers will collect Rs 50,000 for filer and Rs 100,000 for non filer.

Honda Atlas Pakistan will collect advance tax of Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 for filer and non filer on Honda Citi, while on Citi Aspire the amount for filer is Rs 50,000 and Rs 100,000 for non filer. On Honda Civic (all variables), Rs 75,000 will be charged from filer and Rs 150,000 from non filer.

Assemblers have asked their authorized dealers to carefully check customer’s status (either filer or non filer) on the website of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

According to changes in withholding tax law vide Finance Act 2014, purchase of car and jeep from a manufacturer will attract payment of adjustable advance tax and the obligation of collecting the advance tax has been placed on every manufacturer.

Where advance tax has not been collected by the manufacturer (as stated above) or at the time of import of a motor vehicle, the Excise and Taxation Department at the time of registration of vehicle shall collect adjustable advance tax.

In addition, payment of adjustable advance tax will also be attracted at the time of transfer of registration or ownership of a private motor vehicle within five years from the date of first registration and the obligation of collecting the advance tax have been placed on the Excise and Taxation Department.

On 1,801cc to 2,000cc, Rs 100,000 is for filer and Rs 200,000 for non filer.

From 2001cc to 2,500cc the rate of tax on filer is Rs 150,000 and Rs 300,000 for non filer. On 2,501-3,000cc the rate for filer is Rs 200,000 and Rs 400,000 for non filer. On above 3,000cc the advance tax on filer is Rs 250,000 and Rs 450,000 for non filer.

In the category of rate of collection of tax at the time of collection of motor vehicle tax – Division III of Part IV of

1st Schedule, the rate of collection of adjustable advance at the time of collection of motor vehicle tax (token tax) is collected on annual basis in respect of private motor cars have been revised and higher rates have been prescribed for non filers.

Up to 1,000cc the rate is Rs 1,000 for filer and non filer. In 1001-1,199 cc the rate is Rs 1,800 for filer and Rs 3,600 for non filer. On 2,000cc-1,299cc, the rate is Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000 for filer and non filer. On 1,300-1,499cc, the rate is Rs 3,000 and Rs 6,000 for filer and non filer. On 1,500cc-1,599cc the rate is Rs 4,500 and Rs 9,000 for filer and non filer. In 1,600-1,999cc, the rate is Rs 6,000 and Rs 12,000 for filer and non filer. On 2,000cc and above, the rate is Rs 12,000 and Rs 24,000 for filer and non filer.

In case where motor vehicle tax is collected on lump sum, then up to 1,000cc the rate is Rs 10,000 for filer and non filer. From 1,001-1,199cc, the rate is fixed at Rs 18,000 for filer and Rs 36,000 for non filer. From 1,2001,299cc, the rate is 20,000 for filer and Rs 40,000 for non filer while on 1,300cc1,499cc, the rate is Rs 30,000 for filer and Rs 60,000 for non filer. From 1,500cc-1,599cc the rate is Rs 45,000 for filer and Rs 90,000 for non filer. On 1,600-1,999cc, the rate is Rs 60,000 and Rs 120,000 for filer and non filer. On 2,000cc and above, the rate of filer and non filer is Rs 120,000 and Rs 240,000 respectively.

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 15

Authorised dealers have issued the schedule for collecting advance income tax on purchase of new cars and jeeps relating to filers and non filers of income tax. The assemblers will collect the advance income tax as per decision taken in the Federal Budget 2014-2015 and will deposit the tax to the government treasury.

Where advance tax has not been collected by the manufacturer (as stated above) or at the time of import of a motor vehicle, the Excise and Taxation Department at the time of registration of vehicle shall collect adjustable advance tax.

To facilitate Excise and Taxation Department, a list of filers is available on FBR’s website to ensure that tax is deducted at source at appropriate rates.

All individuals whose CNIC is not included in the list and all companies whose NTN is not included in the list, are liable to deduction of tax at source at higher rate.

Commenting on changes in withholding tax law, Chairman All Pakistan Motor Dealers Association (APMDA), H.M. Shahzad said first the government reduced age of used cars to three from five years followed by cut in depreciation limit to two years. In new Budget, the government raised import duties on used car imports and made changes in withholding tax law which would scared away buyers. Many people may not be able to pay these prohibitive taxes which mean the government is penalizing public for buying cars.

He said Pakistani citizens have become the highest taxed person in the world as everything of common use is taxed directly or indirectly.

Exclusive Article by Mohammed Laman

Chinkchees are on Road

We all travel from one place to another almost every day. There is one thing we all see in common; yes exactly you got me right, Chinkchee. Chinkchee is nothing just a destruction of the word Qingqi. Have you ever noticed why the trend of Qingqi is increasing? It’s still questionable for many of us but there are reasoning which will satisfy you.

Qingqi are found in large population in major cities of Pakistan such as Karachi and Lahore. Interesting thing about Qingqi is that they are not being registered like other proper public transport vehicles. Being unregistered means that they don’t have any proper records with the government and which also proves that they don’t have laws to stop them.

Have you ever travelled in a chinkchee?

I have, and I can easily say that the only thing which attracts me is its fare nothing else. I guess travelling in a chinkchee is nothing but just being selfish to yourself and the society. Have you ever noticed that these chinkchees create huge amounts of noise and air pollution? We are already deprived of fresh air and then these chinkchees add up to more. The seats you get to sit on are nothing but just a source of pain.

Not only this I would also add up that

there is no safety for the passengers, At least for the ones who are sitting at the back side of it. If a car behind you has fail brakes, you’re nothing but dead. Is this why you’d prefer to travel in a chinckchee and save up some 30 40 bucks? To avoid criticism I would also state that your life is more precious than just saving up some money.

Have you ever realized why these chinckees charge you at such minimal rates? I’ll tell you why. They are not registered and they don’t need to pay the taxes like other public transporters do.

Also through sources, I would like to tell you that the bikes they use are stolen and all they need to do is just add up a cart behind it. The cost of buying a bike is exempted for them.

As chinkchees can be easily made, every other person goes on making their own chinkchee and start finding on for passengers. There are more chinkchees and fewer people to ride on them now.

But do they ever realize that there is already so much of traffic found everywhere and there is lack of parking too?

I really don’t have issues with chinkchees also I would add that they somehow represent the rich culture and heritage of Pakistan. The art work they get done on these chinkchees become of source of tourist attraction. It might have happened to a lot of you guys that your relatives visit you from abroad and they urge you to get them a ride on a chinkchee and show them the art work done on them.

All I would want to say is that government should take strict actions against these chinkchees by getting them registered and setting a limit on the availability of chinkchees.

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 16

Monthly AutoMark International

Fuel Efficiency Keep the engine warm as it’ll give you better mileage, to effectively keep the engine warm you really need to drive it Vehicles fuel efficiency has become really important now as the petroleum prices stay high almost throughout the year.

Stop being concerned for the increasing prices of petroleum, rather, drive your car in a fuel effective manner. To make sure you use every drop of your fuel you surely need to take on some measures.

One cannot just rely on the oil prices going cheaper so it’s better you go on for methods which costs you less on fuel consumption.

Avoid heavy breaking and make sure you throttle less. This way you’re saving on both the fuel consumption and also the wear and tear. Researches have proved that you can increase your fuel efficiency by 30% if you do this.

You’re not on a quarter mile track for a race so you don’t need to rush up. Keep your nerves calm and make sure you don’t stretch a gear for long. It’s better to drive on a higher gear as driving fast at a lower gear can consume up to 45% of extra fuel.

Get your tire pressure checked at least once in two weeks. Tires that are under

inflated are burning on more fuel. You’re not going for a drifting competition that you need great grips, so pressure up your tires adequately.

Keep the engine warm as it’ll give you better mileage, to effectively keep the engine warm you really need to drive it, not rev it. Make sure you don’t do rev your car before you switch off the engine because it washes off the oil from the walls of the tank and also makes them dry. This is really bad for the next start of the engine.

Read the owner’s manual and change the air filters at least the number of times it’s written in it.

Don’t carry extra load on your car.

Before leaving, plan your journey and decide on what things are necessary and what are not. Remove roof racks if they’re not needed because they create wind drag making the car to struggle against the wind. The lighter the load you have on your car the better the fuel consumption will be. Researches show that fuel efficiency increases by 1%-2% if the load on the car is minimum.

Use appropriate level of engine oil, again read the owner’s manual. It’s clearly stated there that whether you need thick oil for the engine or not.

Avoid resting your left foot on the brake pad. Even the slightest pressure on the brake pad decreases the car motion which you don’t realize but it costs you more on the fuel.

Inspection of wheel alignment, wheel balancing, suspension and shocks should be done on frequent basis.

Last but not the least; avoid driving on rough and bumpy roads. You can apply your physics here which you thought will never come in use again in your life, every time the car goes up and down, the pressure against the wind decreases robbing up to 30% of your fuel.

These are some of the methods which I think are important. You surely must have some different techniques for saving on your fuel. Share your techniques too so we can be more fuel efficient and worry less on the prices of petrol increasing rapidly in our country.

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 17

Automotive Sector - Update

Monthly AutoMark International

CM’s plan to bring back CNG buses on roads hits snags

It appears commuters’ woes in the country’s largest metropolis and undoubtedly its financial capital will not end anytime soon as the chief minister’s latest pledge to bring 36 CNG buses on roads by the end of June has run into snags, like many past promises which failed to see the light of day.

The chief minister who was perhaps alive to the risk of his plan getting stuck against red tape had formed a powerful committee with the top bureaucrat of the province, Chief Secretary Sajjad Salim Hotiana, as its chairman to see the plan through.

But still the chairman and committee members, Commissioner Shoaib Siddiqui and KMC Administrator Rauf Akhtar Farooqui, failed to realise the p lan by taking immediate and appropriate measures.

According to the chief minister, the government has spent Rs40 million on its plan to bring back CNG buses on roads after their necessary repairs and reconditioning. The buses had been left abandoned at the KMC bus terminal in Surjani Town and the route on which the buses were supposed to be plying was from Merewether Tower to Quaidabad vis Sharea Faisal.

An official at the transport department said the department had already extended all the facilities it had been

asked to the KMC, including the Quaidabad terminal, route of the bus and assurance by the Oil and Gas Reg ulatory Author ity for an uninterrupted supply of CNG to the buses.

Informed sources told Dawn that since the buses were to be operated by private parties and a number of entrepreneurs had shown their interest in running it, the committee had perhaps not yet reached a decision on whom to award it.

In the absence of a mass transit system in the country’s largest city, a former capital and economic and industrial hub, people have to commute through illmaintained and outdated minibuses and buses of the private sector and have to travel often on the vehicles’ rooftops to reach their destinations.

The only alternative mode of transport in Karachi, and very convenient at that, for its over 90 per cent population is Qingqi and auto-rickshaws which are good only for brief travels. They become very high risk for long journeys when they have to make way through speeding four-wheelers. Nevertheless, many have to take that risk to avoid travel on rooftops of minibuses.

According to an official statement, the chief minister presided over a meeting on June 12 which discussed in detail

intra-city bus projects, the induction of CNG buses and another fleet of 35 buses in the next two months.

Besides, the chief minister had given good news to Karachiites in his budget speech that the government was working on launching a rapid bus transport project, which would be called Greenline to be plying from Surjani Town to Saddar.

The Greenline is envisaged to be a public-private partnership. Its projected cost is Rs3 billion and is part of the ADP 2014-15 but the project has not been approved so far and the government has set aside for it only Rs59.204 million in the current financial year of 2014-15. It is targeted to be completed in June 2017.

Another transport project, which plans to connect all mega cities with Karachi, is the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Diesel Bus Service Fleet of 100 buses, for which Rs340 million had been allocated but it would get only Rs59.204 million in the next financial year. The project was approved on March 27, 2012, and was targeted to be completed in June 2016.

The government was also negotiating with the Asian Development Bank for financing project for another bus service between Model Colony and Mazar-iQuaid via university road, said the sources.

Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2014

www.automark.pk | July 2014 | Page 18

Exclusive Report by Ashfaq Memon

Monthly AutoMark International

Ramazan blessing for some bike makers

Memon Motor of Hyderabad recently handed over 150, 70cc Superstar Motorcycle and 25 rickshaw to Khawaja Garib-e-Nawaz Welfare Trust in a simple ceremony Fortune has smiled on some Chinese bike assemblers for the last two years since most of the Ramazan special transmissions of private channels have started giving away two wheelers to the participants on either very simple questions or as per program host’s decision.

Some welfare trusts have also been lifting bikes and three wheelers in larger numbers on cash and handing over to the de serv i ng p eo pl e on easy installments.

As per markets reports, Superstar Motorcycle recently handed over 150, 70cc motorcycles and 25 rickshaw to Khawaja Garib-e-Nawaz Welfare Trust in a simple ceremony.

Khawaja Gharib Nawaz Ehsaas Rozgar Scheme has also been active for years.

Ehsaas has already undertaken various projects like water for life, livelihood (rozgar),education, sehri and iftaar appeal, matrimonial assistance project, mobile kitchens dastarkhawan, Fatima Bai Hospital, Ration, gifts for families of Prophet (SAW) who are living below poverty line and Qurbani.

Ehsaas's vision is to implement selfsustaining programmers in areas that have been struck by calamity and locally to help low income families alleviate their poverty and suffering by taking care of their basic necessities of food, water and shelter - all without compromising their dignity.

The Ehsaas Zindagi Ka Campaign was

created in partnership with the Khawaja Gh a r i b N a w a z W e l fa r e T r u s t International (KGNWTI) and ARY Television Network to give welfare and relief during the Pakistan floods of 2010 and 2011.

In this short span of time the campaign was able to provide relief to people in terms of Food Support, Clean Water and Shelter in Pakistan.

D.S. Motors, assembler of Unique two and three wheelers, has a very good background of supplying three wheelers to Sailani Welfare Trust.

Most of the Hyderabad motorcycles assemblers are enjoying their hey days in business while on the contrary a number of bike assemblers are literally struggling to survive.

There is a strong need that more trusts and welfare organizations should come up with projects like Ehsaas and Sailani Welfare Trust as it will not only help the needy persons and families but also boost the production of assemblers.

These trusts should also try to contact other bike assemblers so that they could get surplus production orders other than the regular market demand. It will create employment and boost vendor industry.

Pakistan has been producing around 1.6 million bikes per annum for the last few years in which 70cc bikes enjoy 80 per cent market share and the rest of the share belongs to 100cc, 125cc and 150cc.

Because of the fact that 70cc bikes hold major market share, a strong competition exists among the assemblers but the bikes of only few assemblers are highly popular and have Ashfaq Memon good resale value.

A number of trusts and welfare organisations are not lifting Honda CD70cc bikes as its price is around Rs 70,000 and they purchase Chinese assembled bikes carrying price of Rs 44,000.

Some assemblers have also got the opportunity of getting new orders as many companies had lifted Chinese assembled 70cc bikes from them and giving away in various Ramazan transmission programs.

If 10-20 bikes are being given every day to the people in different programs then the per month figures come to 300-600 bikes. Only three to four bike assemblers are enjoying this kind of sale growth and perhaps these assemblers may be offering some kind of discount to various companies.

There are also reports that many people after getting bikes in Ramazan transmission programs sell the bikes at Akbar Road or other markets to get instant cash...

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 19

Exclusive Article by Owais Khan

Strong sales outlook

FOR AUTO INDUSTRY IN 2014-2015

Huge expansion in road network is anticipated in next few years which is considered to be a backbone of the economy. Pakistan’s road network which carries over 92 per cent of inland freight The future outlook for local auto sector in terms of sales growth appears quite healthy in view of some decisions taken in federal and provincial budgets 20142015.

One of the most encouraging news was the cut in general sales tax (GST) on tractors to 10 per cent from 17 per cent which is bound to boost sales in the current fiscal year as price cut by Rs 30,000 to Rs 90,000 will encourage growers/farmers.

Another booster for the auto industry and its vendors came from the Punjab government which allocated Rs25 billion for the taxi scheme in its 2014-2015

budget which will improve the profitability of Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited having over 50 per cent market share.

“Although details of the short-listed manufacturers are yet to be announced for the scheme, we see high probability of Pak Suzuki’s (PSMC) selection,” JS Research reported “The leading local car manufacturer will provide vans/pickups which will be used as taxi in rural areas for mass transportation,” Sherman Securities said. If short listed, the yellow cab scheme can lift PSMC’s expected earnings in year 2014 and 2015 by 13 to

20 per cent, as earnings impact is likely to be spread over its Jan-Dec reporting period. On a standalone basis, rough estimates suggest an annualized earnings impact of Rs10 per share for the company.

The contract of taxis may be given to Pak Suzuki Motors (PSMC) and Al-Haj FAW (local assembler in partnership with Chinese FAW group), as both are capable of producing small pickup-vans. Though the Chinese group is capable of producing vehicles like FAW X-PV and FAW-Carrier, which are slightly cheaper than the vehicles produced

by PSMC, it is expected that PSMC remains a major beneficiary given its huge capacity and long association with the Punjab government in earlier schemes.

PSMC has capacity to produce 3,000 units per month each of Ravi and Bolan on three shifts. The company sold 14,000 units of Bolan and 11,700 units of Ravi in calendar year 2013 (CY13).

The company also produces 150,000 units (on double shift basis) and sold 76,000 cars/LCVs during CY13 compared to 96,000 cars/LCVs during 2012.

“Earlier in 2012, the Punjab government,

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Monthly AutoMark International

under its taxi scheme, had given an order of 20,000 cabs to PSMC. The cabs produced under the scheme had 60 per cent share (12,000 units) of Suzuki Mehran and 40 per cent (8,000 units) of Suzuki Bolan. Though this time, the government has quoted over 50,000 cabs to be distributed; however, based on current market prices and same proportion of Mehran and Bolan (60%:40%), it is estimated that 38,000 to 40,000 cabs would be distributed to fully utilize the Rs25 billion allocated for the project”, BMA capital reported.

Hopefully all vehicles will be distributed during within three years.

In contrast, the Sindh government had decided to provide 7,000 tractors in the current fiscal year.

Besides, short-term triggers, there are medium-term triggers which may lift overall sales of auto and allied which are, Huge expansion in road network is anticipated in next few years which is considered to be a backbone of the economy. Pakistan’s road network which carries over 92 per cent of inland freight, any improvement will flourish service sector and eventually generate demand for autos and allied products. The present government in collaboration with Chinese companies, will establish China-Pak Economic Corridor by the end of 2017 with total cost of $5-7 bn which will be mainly funded by consortium of banks including China Development Bank, and ExportImport Bank of China. These projects include, Karakorum Highway (RaikotIslamabad via Mansehra), KarachiLahore Motorway (Multan-Sukkur section) and Gawadar East Bay Expressway.

It is generally seen that economic slowdown has spill over impact on autoindustry. Pakistan’s auto-industry which is operating at only 30 per cent of its

capacity, is down almost 30 per cent compared to 6 years back. This is primarily due to the fact that Pakistan’s GDP on an average grew by only 3 per cent in last 6 years compared to previous 6 year average GDP growth of more than 6 per cent. With midterm plan to raise GDP growth to 7 per cent as envisaged by government under 11th Five Year Plan , 2013-18, which signals revival in auto industry as well.

To support rural economy, govt. Is likely to continue taxi scheme (as announced in Budget FY15) and allocate higher farm credit to support agriculture.

Stability in Pak Rupee versus the dollar also anticipated to positively impact auto sector as it may protect their gross margins.

“The leading local car manufacturer will provide vans/pickups which will be used as taxi in rural areas for mass transportation,” Sherman Securities said.

If short listed, the yellow cab scheme can lift PSMC’s expected earnings in year 2014 and 2015 by 13 to 20 per cent, as earnings impact is likely to be spread over its Jan-Dec reporting period. On a standalone basis, rough estimates suggest an annualized earnings impact of Rs10 per share for the company.

MC introduces new model of Corolla US$ 100 million invested in technology transfer and production facility improvements Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC), the manufacturers and distributors of Toyota and Daihatsu range of vehicles, announced t he commencement of Customer’s order taking from 16th July for the much anticipated New Model of their flagship Toyota Sedan, Corolla.

Corolla Altis Grande, the 11th generation Corolla has been completely redesigned around the concepts of elegance and class-above Prestige. The exterior design reflects modernity and attention to details, with a dynamic front and harmonious lines defining the exterior silhouette. The sleek, cutting edge shape gives the new corolla a very striking image and the aerodynamics provides greater agility and reduced air resistance. The new front and rear lamps provide a greater aesthetic appeal, in line with the continuous, free flowing design concept.

The new Corolla Altis is powered by 1800 CC, Dual VVTI engine with a 7 Speed Continuous Variable Transmission (CVT), that ensures seamless gear shifting, smooth acceleration, and low RPM while accelerating, resulting in superior performance and fuel efficiency. In order to enhance driving thrill, a sport type, Paddle gear shifting is also provided.

The lower stance reduces air drag, resulting in improved road grip & great er fuel economy and a softer suspension system ensures a comfortable and smooth ride.

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Automotive news update

Auto sales down by 0.1pc The sales of auto industry in May remained flat at 12,170 units with a meager decline of 0.1 percent on monthon-month (M-o-M) basis, according to the figures released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) on last month.

On year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis, the sales numbers in May witnessed a fall of 7.3 percent as compared to 13,131 units sold in the last fiscal year, it showed.

Sequentially, the 11 months of FY14 numbers showed a slight growth of 1.2 percent to 122,529 units as compared to 121,050 units in the same period of FY13, mainly due to improving macro fundamentals and increasing consumer spending.

Honda Car was the outperformer in May, being the only company showing substantial growth.

The company sold 2,260 units in the month as compared to 1,950 units in April (up by 15.9 percent), according to

the data.

Both City and Civic sales performed well in the month with approximately 16 percent M-o-M growth. However, on Yo-Y basis, the company sales went down by 5.5 percent as compared to 2,392 units in the corresponding month last fiscal year.

Indus Motor Company sales increased by 2.2 percent M-o-M to 2,917 units in the month albeit Corolla sales taking a dip of 7.7 percent M-o-M to 2,443 units, the data showed.

Hilux sales recovered in the month to 446 units as compared to 177 units in April, thus, it remains the major M-oM growth driver for May. Pak Suzuki Motor Company performed poorly in the month with five percent M-o-M decline in the volumetric sales to 6,993 units as compared to 7,359 units last month.

Mehran and Cultus were the main reasons for such a decline, falling 18.3

Removal of anomaly in customs duty sought All Pakistan Motorcycle Spare Parts Importers and Dealers Association (APMSPIDA) Senior Vice-Chairman Khurram Riaz has urged the federal finance minister to remove the anomaly in customs duty on the import of motorcycle spare parts. In a letter to the finance minister, Riaz criticised the discrimination of the authorities while formulating the customs duty criteria for motorcycle spare parts, which fell under Chapter 8714-0000 relating to Spare Parts for Vehicles of Heading 8711 to 8713.

HS Code 8711-0000 Related Vehicles Parts have been subjected to 35 percent CD as per 1st Schedule Plus 15 percent additional duty in terms of SRO 693(1)/2006 dated 1st July, 2006, which means the importers of motorcycles spare parts have been placed under the highest rate of customs tariff, whereas all other sectors have been brought under highest level of only 25 percent customs duty.

This difference in the duty structure is clear discrimination and an unfair treatment on the part of the Federal

Board of Revenue (FBR), which will certainly hurt the national exchequer, as the revenue collection from this sector will drop sharply, the letter says. It is apprehended that this anomaly would give rise to smuggling and the registered commercial importers would not be able to compete in the local markets after paying such high rates of duty and taxes on their imports.

Riaz expressed the hope that the association's appeal would be given due consideration.

He said that if the duty structure on the import of motorcycle spare parts was reduced and brought at par with the duty structure set for all other sectors of import, then the revenue collection from the legitimate imports of motorcycle spare parts would increase significantly and the smuggling of spare parts would be discouraged. Central Vice-Chairman of the association, Ahsan Shakeel, pointed out the smuggling of motorcycle spare parts on a massive scale from China through Sust border and Afghan Transit Trade (ATT).

percent M-o-M and 31.5 percent M-oM, respectively.

Wagon R seems to be making its ground with 528 units sold in May as compared to 309 units last month, it showed. On Y-o-Y basis, total sales numbers remained flat with a meager growth of 0.3 percent Y-o-Y as compared to 6,971 units in May 2013.

Ghandhara Nissan sold 55 trucks in the month as compared to 12 trucks sold in both the preceding months and the same month last fiscal year, the PAMA data revealed.

High sales number represents the realisation of the 500 units outstanding order indicated in March Director Report of the company. “Thus, we believe these high numbers to sustain or even increase in the coming months.”

Booking of vehicles Senate body irked by ‘own money’ The committee discussed Zahid Khan’s query that he raised in the Senate session held on September 16, 2011 which was referred to the committee. It was about extra charge at the time of delivery of Toyota vehicles by Indus Motor Company from customers (other than the amount charged at the time of booking of vehicles under the guise of increase in the prices of vehicles).

A representative of Toyota seemed to have failed to defend ‘own-money’ charges against auto assemblers, dismissing the question by stating that auto companies have their own pricing mechanism. “We formulated a policy two years back according to which cars are delivered in two weeks,” he added.

Fateh Muhammad Hasani argued that local car assemblers have strengthened their corrupt practices in connivance with Ministries of Commerce, Finance and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), adding that thousands of rupees are being charged from customers under the guise of ‘own-money’. He suggested that a mechanism should be put in place to control local auto assemblers.

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Monthly AutoMark International

MTL, MCB sign MoU Millat Tractors Limited and Muslim Commercial Bank, the two leading conglomerates in respective industries, signed a memorandum of understanding to initiate tractor loaning scheme to facilitate farming community to acquire Millat-produced tractors and agricultural implements. The agreement was signed jointly by SM Irfan Aqueel, Chief Executive Officer, MTL and Zargham Khan Durrani, Executive Vice President, MCB. Speaking on the occasion, SM Irfan Aqueel and Zargham Khan Durrani hoped that the scheme would be successful owing that quality Massey Ferguson Tractors, manufactured by MTL, would be provided to the farmers on easy terms and conditions by MCB, the most successful commercial bank of Pakistan.—PR

CNG prices raised The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) increased on last week the prices of compressed natural gas (CNG) by up to eight per cent due to imposition of higher rates for Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) through finance bill for 2014-15.

The rate for sale of CNG to consumers has been raised by Rs2.1 per kg (2.83 per cent), to Rs76.35 for region I (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and the Potohar zone including Rawalpindi and Islamabad). Previously, the CNG price for the region was Rs74.25 a kg.

For region-II (Sindh and Punjab excluding the Potohar zone), the CNG price has been increased by Rs5.36 per kg to Rs 71.5 a kg from Rs 66.14, a raise of 8.1 per cent.

The price increases are the first since December 2013, when the Supreme Court held detailed proceedings on the matter.

The government has already reduced gas supply to CNG stations in Punjab to 18 hours a week from 72 hours about six months ago. The natural gas so saved is being diverted to the power sector, textile mills and fertiliser plants.

China studying new Silk Road rail link to Pakistan China has allocated funds to do preliminary research on building an international railway connecting the westernmost city of Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region with Pakistan's deep-sea Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea, according to the director of Xinjiang's regional development and reform commission.

"The 1,800-kilometer China-Pakistan railway is planned to also pass through Pakistan's capital of Islamabad and Karachi," Zhang Chunlin said as the twoday International Seminar on the Silk Road Economic Belt commenced on Thursday in Urumqi, Xinjiang's capital.

"Although the cost of constructing the railway is expected to be high due to the

Berger acquired distribution rights of DuPont for Pakistan's Berger Paints Pakistan Limited one of the largest paints manufacturers in the world, started its commercial operations in Pakistan in 1950. First, the company was an import based business, offering premium products through import from the United Kingdom. The company established its first manufacturing plant in Karachi in 1955. Keeping in view the growing demand of paints in the country, Berger established another manufacturing facility in Lahore in 2006.

Berger, headed by Dr Mahmood Ahmad as CEO, has an extensive presence in the country-via regional offices in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad and through territorial offices in Gujranwala, Multan, Faisalabad, Peshawar and Hyderabad. Recently, Berger acquired distribution rights of DuPont for Pakistan's vehicle refinish paint segment. Berger is not just a paint company; it offers one stop solution across different paint product categories in order to meet the demands of its customers. Its line of business includes: Decorative Business, Automotive Business, General Industrial Finishes, Powder Coatings, Protective Coatings, Vehicle Refinishes, Road Safety, Government and Marine, Construction Chemicals, Printing Inks, and Adhesives.

hostile environment and complicated geographic conditions, the study of the project has already started," Zhang said.

The railway, which cannot avoid running through the Pamir Plateau and Karakoram Mountains, will be one of the hardest to build but most vital transportation infrastructures on the China-Pakistan corridor along China's newly proposed Silk Road Economic Belt, he added.

"China and Pakistan will co-fund the railway construction. Building oil and gas pipelines between Gwadar Port and China is also on the agenda," Zhang said.

Control of Gwadar Port was given to China and an agreement was signed with China Overseas Ports Holding Co on May 16, 2013, to transfer operational rights from the Port Authority of Singapore.

The move means China now is running a port just opposite the Gulf of Oman, an important route for oil tankers.

The speed of road and railway c o n st r uc t i o n i n Xi n j i a ng w as significantly increased after September 2013, when President Xi Jinping raised the idea of the economic belt, Zhang said.

IHC stays 15pc extra sales tax on CNG stations Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on last week through an interim order stopped federal government from receiving 15% extra sales tax from the CNG station owners on account of gas consumption.

Justice Siddiqui directed the federal government that it could receive 17% sales tax on gas supply from the CNG station owners but not the 15% on gas consumption.

The All Pakistan CNG Association filed a writ before the court against the levying of an accumulative 32% sales tax. Legal counsel for the petitioner argued before the court that the honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan had directed the federal government to levy 17% sales tax instead of 32% but the federal government is receiving 32% sales tax.

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Monthly AutoMark International

Automotive Sector - Update

KCR project is no more on JICA’s priority list Senate body told The fate of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project still hangs in the balance as it is no more in the priority list of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) due to unresolved issue of resettlement of encroachers.

This was stated by Chairman/Secretary Pakistan Railways Aftab Akbar, while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Railways, which met with Mir Mohammad Ali Rind in the chair here on last week.

Aftab Akbar informed the committee that JICA has tied the loan for the KCR project with the resettlement of encroachers and it would not provide loans for the project until the issue was resolved. The government has also completed several studies regarding the project but JICA is currently on back foot, Aftab Akbar added.

He further said that the federal and Sindh governments are on the same page and accepted 16 demands of JICA out of 17, however the later is insisting on providing plots/homes to the encroachers who occupied Railways lands while the government is ready to give compensation in shape of cash.

The Governments are of the view that by implementing the JICA model a new precedent would be set which would create problems in the whole country.

The Chairman Railways further said that government has taken up the issue with JICA administration and the later was supposed to come to Pakistan last week however due to security concerns

the meeting was cancelled and the meeting may take place in Dubai or in Japan.

The committee expressed concerns over the low allocation for the KCR project in the budget 2014-15, saying that it seems that the project is no more on government priority. The body further recommended to resolve the issue as soon as possible and should allocate more funds for the project, which is important to cater to about 50 percent traffic issues in Karachi.

The chairman further said that Railways has earned Rs 23.6 billion against the government target of Rs 21.6 billion in the current fiscal year which would cross the figure of Rs 24 billion by the end of current fiscal year. Railways earned Rs 18 billion in last financial year while the

PR's indifference to encroachments delays KCR project Pakistan Railways (PR) seemed to be indifferent to vacate its encroached land in Karachi, which is creating problems for foreign investors to initiate the multimillions Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project. Although Federal Minister for Railways, Khwaja Saad Rafiq, has vowed to launch a massive crackdown against the land grabbers, who have occupied PR land across the country, no action has so far been taken to remove

e ncro achmen t s o ve r PR l and s in Karachi A significant portion of PR land was recovered during last months in Lahore and Quetta, but due to strong political influence in Karachi, PR has failed to take action against the encroachers to vacate the land, which is making it difficult for foreign investors to initiate KCR project, they said....

government set Rs 21.6 billion for the current financial year however Railways set a target of Rs 24 billion to be earned in the current financial year.

The committee recommended shifting focus from passengers’ trains to freight trains, besides providing other facilities to passengers which would help earn more revenue for Railways. The committee was informed that currently 100 passengers’ trains were operating against 230 in last year which shows that passengers’ trains have been capped.

The committee was further informed that currently Railways have 423 locomotives where 200 are in services.

Railways received 23 out of the total 58 locomotives from a consortium led by China where 14 locomotives have been added to the system after completion of trail. These engines have covered about 0.4 million km where 18 faults were surfaced which shows a satisfactory performance. Chairman Railways further said that in collaboration with Rangers and FC security would be upgraded at all Railways stations and tracks to avoid untoward incidents. The committee also recommended taking help from Pakistan Army in training Railways police to meet the security challenges.

www.automark.pk | July 2014 | Page 24

Cooperate Profile - Automotive

Monthly AutoMark International

New Challenges- New Daewoo, JAC and KING LONG Models Afzal Motors anticipated well in time the changing environment of Pakistan Commercial Vehicle industry in Pakistan and moved forward to capitalize the opportunities of rapid changing and diversified needs of customers by introducing new models of Daewoo, JAC and King Long brands of Commercial Vehicles. Believing that Sky is the Limit, Started the new assembly venture in 2007 by only one model of Daewoo Heavy Duty Truck, now serving our valued customers with the largest product line from JAC mini and medium duty trucks to a range of Daewoo Heavy Duty product mix.

Alhamdulillah, with the blessing of Almighty Allah, we are providing the largest variety of Commercial Vehicles in Pakistan and now our valued customers have a wide range of options from one window i.e. Mini, Medium and Heavy Duty Trucks from 3 ton to 60 tons and Mini, Medium and Large Buses from 12 seats to 63 seats to achieve optimal customer’s satisfaction by delivering Quality, Durable and Reliable Products and most efficient After Sales Services.

To Lead. To Improve. To be Best - No Matter What C o n t i nu o u s i m p r o v em e n t a n d innovation is our guiding principle while producing Daewoo, JAC and KING LONG Commercial Vehicles. Special emphasis has been made to produce vehicles meeting all internationally a cc e p t e d , qu al i t y , s af e t y a n d environment standards and most importantly satisfying our valued customers. A big leap was covered by introducing Three New Models of Daewoo Trucks recently, in

the light of Pakistani operating environment especially overloading regulation gradually pacing its enforcement.

• Unparallel Power - Environment Friendly,

In order to meet the tremendous demand of Mini Buses / Van with 14-17 Seats, Afzal Motors has successfully introduced King Long Vans, one the biggest manufacturer and exporter in China with production of over 50,000 buses.

K e ep i n g i n v i e w t he d efi n i t e performance and economic advantages of Daewoo, JAC, KING LONG Vehicles,

• Optimal Efficiency-Maximum Profit • Ultimate Safety with ABS Braking System • European Safety Standard Certified Cabin • Strong & powerful Clutch of 430mm • Stylized Design, Luxurious Space, • Sedan like Comfort • High Durability, Excellent Stability, Drive Comfort • Unprecedented Warranty of 150,000 kms or 18 months • Very Special Introductory Prices for limited stocks.

we request our valued customers for the patronizing our products for your operation. The supply of Daewoo, JAC and KING LONG products with most suitable sp eci fi cati on f or y our requirement at competitive prices is assured.

We believe in long term business relations and assure our valued customers that our customer’s decision for Daewoo, JAC and KING LONG Vehicles will be reflected in greater economic outcome than competing vehicles.....

Three New Daewoo Heavy Duty Trucks Salient Features

JAC Medium Size Trucks

To cater the most rapidly expanding segment of medium duty cargo truck in the range of 5 – 9.5 tons, Afzal Motors has successfully introduced the JAC brand of Mini and Medium Duty Trucks.

JAC is the largest manufacturer of Mini and Medium Trucks in China with annual production of over 800,000 units

KING LONG Vans

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Monthly AutoMark International

Minister Ploumen hears first-hand about the good work being done by CBI in Pakistan Reception At the end of May Lilianne Ploumen, the Netherlands Minister for Trade and Development, met with local CBI experts and Embassy personnel in a reception in the Dutch Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. The reception was attended

by CBI external experts Imtiaz Rastgar and Zaheeruddin Dar, local representatives of PUM, the Netherlands senior managers association, and Robert Dresen, who is Head of the Economic Section of the Dutch Embassy in Islamabad.

Satisfaction CBI experts Zaheeruddin Dar and Imtiaz Rastgar brought the Minister up to speed about ongoing CBI activities in Pakistan, including Export Coaching Programmes, BS OD p r o gr ammes an d GSP + (Generalised Scheme of Preferences) seminars. The Minister expressed her satisfaction about the work being done in Pakistan by CBI and, in response to her specific enquiries, was informed ab o ut h o w t he o r ga ni s at i o n ’s

programmes were being implemented.

Furthermore, a few possibilities of inward investment by Dutch machinery manufacturing companies were also brought to the Minister’s attention.

Opening doors During a discussion with Minister Ploumen, Robert Dresen told the Minister that for Embassy employees the work of CBI always opens doors for them when they visit local Chambers of Commerce or industry associations.

“Industry here always praises the work done by CBI,” he said.

Round table conference The day after the reception CBI external expert Zaheeruddin Dar was also present at a round table conference on GSP+ compliance organised by the Dutch Embassy in Islamabad and ILO Country Office. The conference, which was chaired by Minister Ploumen, was

attended by Pakistan’s Minister of Textiles and the Minister for Labour Affairs of the Government of Punjab.

F u r t h er mo re , d i p lo ma t s a nd representatives of industry and international organisations also participated.

Praised When welcoming participants to the confe re nc e, the Ne therlands Ambassador to Pakistan praised the work of CBI, citing it as representative of the work done in the context of Dutch overseas assistance and cooperation.

During her own speech, Minister Ploumen also praised CBI’s work in Pakistan.

Mission The main purpose of Minister Ploumen’s visit to Pakistan was to discuss issues such as water supplies, health (polio) and labour conditions in the textiles industry. Afterwards, she continued her mission with a visit to Bangladesh.

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 26

Cooperate Achievement - Event update

Monthly AutoMark International

Panther Tyre achieves Brand of the Year

Award-2013 Governor Punj ab, Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar awarded the prestigious “Brand of the Year Award2013” to Panther Tyres limited. This significant award in the category of "Motorcycle Tyres & Tubes " was received by Mr. Azhar Hanif, Regional Sales Manager South, Panther Tyres Limited. This spectacular award event was held in Karachi.

Commenting on this achievement a spokesman of the Company said; Panther Tyres Ltd., an illustrious name in Tyre industry is striving hard to expand the scope of Pakistani Tyres & Tubes locally as well as by exporting quality tyres & tubes around the globe.

Panther Brand has been a trade mark for quality tyres & tubes since many decades. Panther products range is available in a broad range of sizes and designs for Motorcycles, Rickshaws, Light commercial vehicles, Tractors, Truck Bus radials and Passenger car radials.

Panther Tyres Limited, Manufacturer of a wide range of tyres and tubes in different categories is considered as the number one Pakistan based motorcycle tyres and tubes company and this status has been re-confirmed after receiving “Brand of the year award, 2013”. The uncompromising quality of the product is also recognized by other local manufacturers of motorcycles tyres in Pakistan. ISO 9002 certificate is another proof of company’s commitment to maintain quality standards.

Panther Tyres Limited is determined to continuously play leading role with pride, in order to earn greater respect for company and country. The company attained this position by offering high qu al it y p ro d uct s t o l ocal an d international customers.

Panther continue to stay committed to enhancing the quality of products and upgrading technologi es. It goes without saying that adheres to the highest standards of safety in Pakistan.

P a n t he r en j o y s l o n g - s t a n d i n g relationships with leading OEMs like Honda, Super Power, Super Star, Unique, Suzuki, Road prince, Zimco, New Asia, Sazgar, Qingqi , Millat Tractors & Al-Ghazi. Working closely with partners’ Research and Technology

departments to manufacture scientific, highly-durable customized Tyres for all customers. By creating new business opportunities, reducing costs, getting to market faster and increasing customer satisfaction, OEM partners have empowered us to grow exponentially......

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 31

Corporate Event - Press Release

Monthly AutoMark International

To showcase its reliable auto spare parts Crown Group participated in “My Karachi-Oasis of Harmony” exhibition Karachi: The Crown Group participated in “My Karachi-Oasis of Harmony” exhibition which was held from 20th to 22nd June 2014, organized under the flagship of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) at Karachi expo center. The Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah was the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony and dignitaries from KCCI and Sindh Government were also there.

This is one of the largest international exhibition in which local and foreign exhibitors were showcased their products and services in front of around 1 million visitors. In exhibition Crown group showcased its motorcycles with wide variety of its locally manufactured motorcycles parts while CRLF 250 CC (heavy bike) got the attraction of all the visitors. In the inauguration ceremony, Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah awarded the honorary Gold Medal to Chairman of Intellectual Property Rights, Member Managing Committee KCCI and CEO- Crown Group Farhan

Hanif to recognize his outstanding contribution towards organizing exhibition moreover he was also rewarded honorary shield by Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI, Siraj Kassam Teli while MQM Deputy Parliamentary leader, Khawaja Izharul Hassan, President KCCI, Abdullah Zaki, Vice President KCCI, Muhammad Idrees, Chairman KCCI Special Committee for My Karachi, Ismail Surya, Chairman Site Association of Industry, Younus M Bashir, former SVP KCCI and Shamim Ahmed Firpo and MQM leader Raza Haroon visited the Crown Group stall to appreciate its efforts.

On this occ asion, Chairman Businessmen Group & Former President KCCI, Siraj Kassam Teli recalled that during his tenure as President KCCI in 2004, they felt there was a need to clarify the negative perception about Karachi, which mainly emerged due to negative projection by the media, particularly the western media. He added without any

commercial objective we had a vision to promote the tag line of 'Made in Pakistan' worldwide. Siraj Kassam Teli and President KCCI Abdullah Zaki also appreciated support extended

by Sindh government, Governor Sindh and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan in making this event successful.

Furthermore, Chairman of Intellectual Property Rights, Member Managing Committee KCCI and CEO- Crown Group Farhan Hanif shared his words as the purpose of holding the three-day exhibition is to introduce and promote 'made in Pakistan' brand and show the world that this is a dynamic country. He added, the exhibition will act as an avenue for interaction and business-tobusiness linkages and it was provide a platform to build up relations with international investors for future business ventures.

Issued by Crown Group of Companies

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Monthly AutoMark International

Automotive Sector - Update

Govt lifts ban on import of CNG kits

The decisions were taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet in a meeting chaired

by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The decision to lift the ban on the import of CNG kits, cylinders and parts was taken at a time when the government has severely curtailed gas supplies to CNG stations, highlighting flaws in its policies.

The government diverted the gas to increase power generation in Ramazan.

Import of CNG kits The ECC approved a Ministry of

Petroleum and Natural Resources summary allowing the import of CNG cylinders, kits and parts for conversion of vehicles at the assembling facilities of original equipment manufacturers, according to a handout issued by the Ministry of Finance after the ECC meeting.

An Italian firm, Landi Renzo, that produces auto gas and CNG kits for cars was pushing for a reversal of the ban, imposed in 2011 due to a shortage of gas, officials said. Japanese and Italian embassies also advocated for the ban to be lifted.

The Federal Board of Revenue had opposed the move and argued that due to the increasing shortage of gas, the government should not allow the import of kits. It has suggested that in the event that the ban is lifted, the government should charge higher taxes at the import stage.

During the Pakistan Peoples Party’s (PPP) tenure, the ECC slapped a blanket ban on company-fitted CNG kits and cylinders in locally manufactured vehicles and also imposed curbs on their import.

CNG kits, cylinders Federal Board of Revenue resists plan to remove import curbs The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has opposed any move to lift the ban on import of compressed natural gas (CNG) kits and cylinders for installation in vehicles at a time when filling stations are frequently closed in the face of gas shortage.

In a letter sent to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, the revenue-collecting body disapproved of government’s contrasting policies as on the one hand CNG stations were being shut because of gas shortage and on the other a proposal was being floated to remove the curbs on kits and cylinder import.

“CNG stations are being closed for few

days and weeks or for extended periods while on the other side ban on import of CNG kits is being proposed to be lifted,” the FBR said, adding the board did not back the proposal of scrapping the ban.

However, it suggested, “if the ban is lifted, existing concessionary rate of 0% customs duty may be withdrawn and imports be subjected to 10% duty.”

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) will take up in its upcoming meeting a summary sent by the Ministry of Petroleum, which seeks to remove the restrictions on import of CNG kits and cylinders.

The ban had particularly hit Landi Renzo, a multinational company that installed CNG kits and cylinders in lo cally manu factured vehi cles.

However, it was allowed import of parts and components for CNG kits for export purpose only.

Landi Renzo, headquartered in Italy, produces auto gas and CNG kits and has made foreign direct investment in P ak is t an b y se t t i ng up a k it manufacturing and assembly plant n ame d Lan di Renz o Pak ist an.

With an investment of around €7.7 million, the company catered to the domestic market as well as exported kits to Brazil, China, Iran and Italy valuing €3.7 million.

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Monthly AutoMark International

Automotive Sector - Update

Local auto industry lags far behind Indian counterpart Pakistani local auto industry sold only 124,807 locally assembled cars (including light commercial vehicles, commercial vehicles, vans and jeeps) in the first 11 months of the FY14, depicting only 2.3 percent increase from last year, despite enormous reduction in imported used vehicles due to age restriction.

In India, 80 percent of the local auto market dominates with 800cc to 1000cc segment cars while remaining 18 percent covers 1000cc to 1300cc along with only 2 percent people in India buy above 1300cc vehicles.

Apart from the argument whether government policies suppressed the growth of the local auto industry or auto assemblers failed to meet the deletion target, Indian auto industry surpassed local data and auto figures that depicted gloomy illustration.

Despite the fact the Indian auto industry still going through rough times, it exported 5,50,466 units in Indian fiscal year 2013-14 (IFY 14 April 2013 to March 2014) as compared to 5,47,222 units in IFY 2012-13 while domestic car sales stood at 17,86,899 units in FY14, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Pakistani local auto industry sold only 124,807 locally assembled cars (including light commercial vehicles, commercial vehicles, vans and jeeps) in the first 11 months of the FY14, depicting only 2.3 percent increase from last year, despite enormous reduction in imported used vehicles due to age restriction.

Pakistan exported worth of $18.677 million of auto parts and accessories till the end of April 2014 in FY14 while transport group imports in Pakistan stood at $1.833 billion during the said period.

Similarly, on the two wheelers’ front, Indian two-wheelers’ exports rose 6.52 percent to 20,83,938 units in IFY 14 from 19,56,378 units in IFY 13 while domestic sales of motorcycles stood at 14.81 million.

In Pakistan, motorcycles’ sales stood at 1.44 million units in first 10 months of FY14 according to Pakistan Bureau of

Statistic’s (PBS) data.

As far as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is concerned for the automobile sector, India fetched $1.517 billion inflows during the IFY14 for the development and growth for the automotive sector from foreign countries.

With the presence of three world renowned Japanese automakers in the Pakistan, FDI received during the first 11 months for the automobile sector was not compatible as it stood at $27.3 million of which $24.9 million was invested in cars assembling while $3.1million was coming for two wheeler industry. Buses, trucks, vans and trails’ assembling industry of Pakistan was remained failing to attract FDI as it stood at negative growth of $0.7 million during the first 11 months of this fiscal.

In India, 80 percent of the local auto market dominates with 800cc to 1000cc segment cars while remaining 18 percent covers 1000cc to 1300cc along with only 2 percent people in India buy above 1300cc vehicles.

In Pakistan the situation leads totally different as unavailability of locally assembled small cars’ segment to market share of 1000cc to 1300cc cars to 30 percent, while only 21 percent of the local market is covered by an 800cc to 1000cc cars.

Interestingly, the country of lowest economic growth in the region and having awful energy crisis has 49 percent share of the local auto market of above 1300cc luxurious vehicles.

With the alleged gloves in hands of

policymakers with local assemblers, Pakistani auto industry saw only partiality nothing else during the last decade.

Also in this year’s budget speech brought same apathetic posture of government for consumers besides some more support announced for the already privileged local auto assemblers by reducing 10 percent Federal Excise Duty (FED) on locally made 1800cc or above vehicles.

This incentive announced by the government in budget 2014-5 was supporting one assembler in Pakistan, as Toyota Fortuner would enjoy this decrease.

Analogous to last budget when government joked by announcement of duty reduction on import of 1200cc or below Hybrid cars which were still not available in the whole world, they did same in this budget by reducing the FED on locally made (assembled) cars as it would cater only for 900 to 100 people in the population of 200 million.

It can be judged by this, Toyota sold 847 units of Fortuner in last FY while the sale of Fortuner stood at only 386 units ahead of the closing of this fiscal.

Toyota aimed to sell around 2,500 units in the first launching year of the locally assembled Fotuner based on studies conducted by the Company, but unfortunately the local distributors of the Toyota still have not managed to sell the set target after two years of launching of Sports Utility Vehicle.

www.automark.pk | July 2014 | Page 34

International Automotive - News Update

Monthly AutoMark International

Toyota Working Hard to Make Free Piston Engine Linear Generator Possible It’s pretty obvious that electricity is the future for our cars. But as any EV owner now can tell you, it has some limitations.

Range and charging times are their biggest limitations, but the Toyota has two solutions to counter their effects.

Fuel cells and Free Piston Engine Linear Generators (FPELG).

As we’ve detailed Toyota’s fuel cell technology in the past, let’s take a look at the company’s other solution - the FPELG.

Toyota isn’t the only automaker to be working on such idea and the opposed-piston engine is not a new idea, but it’s sort of a race for who will put it to mass production.

As you can see in the picture above, the free piston engine is basically a combustion engine with no crankshaft.

Instead of being connected to the crankshaft that turns linear motion into a rotational one that can be used to power generators and wheels, the piston has a cylindrical permanent magnet at its opposite end. This is encased in a cylindrical coil and the whole assembly is called a linear generator.

Combustion taking place at the other

end of the piston is pretty much similar, pushing the piston and magnet through the coil, while a gas-filled chamber plus a spring at the opposite end will throw the piston back and start another cycle.

The advantage of such a contraption is that it is less complicated than a normal combustion engine by using fewer parts, it’s very compact and can easily be used as a range extender for electric vehicles.

On the downside, the engine is not equilibrated and big vibrations are generated. This could be eliminated by putting two cylinders in a boxer formation, so opposed vibrations would cancel out. But here comes the second disadvantage - without a crankshaft to dictate the combustion process, synchronizing the two pistons is the biggest problem right now.

That’s what Toyota Central R&D Labs are currently working on - to realize the generator system with high efficiency and low vibration. Currently, their prototypes (two of them) are only 13 hp (10 kW). It doesn’t sound much, but two of them are enough to push a Yaris or Corolla-sized vehicle on the highway up to speeds around 76 mph (120 km/h).

First, let’s take a look at what a FPELG is.

Toyota to launch new fuel cell car Japanese auto giant Toyota will start selling its first fuel cell sedan this financial year, with a price tag of around 7 million yen (2.23 million baht), the company announced Wednesday.

The vehicles will begin rolling out by March in the home market, it said, and during the summer of 2015 it will make the environmentally friendly cars available in the United States and Europe.

"Hydrogen is a particularly promising alternative fuel since it can be produced using a wide variety of primary energy sources, including solar and wind power," the automaker said in a statement.

Fuel cell cars are seen as the Holy Grail of green cars as they are powered by a chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen, which produces nothing more harmful than water.

Toyota's fuel cell sedan can travel about 700 kilometres without refuelling, about three times further than an electric car, and it only takes three minutes refuel, similar to a gasoline engine car, Toyota said.

The company, while not abandoning electric altogether, sees the fuel cell as the next logical step after its big early success with the Prius gas-electric hybrid, which has sold about 3.7 million units since its launch in the late 1990s.

"Hydrogen does not emit CO2, so it could be a key player to realise a lowcarbon society. It can be produced with fossil fuel such as natural gas and even with sludge accumulated in the sewage system," said Toyota vice president Mitsuhisa Kato.

"We believe hydrogen could become a very important source of energy in the future."

This is the first time Toyota has given a specific timeframe for its fuel cell cars, which it had previously said would go on the market in 2015.

www.automark.pk | July 2014 | Page 35

Are Electric Cars Ready?

Are electric cars ready to replace internal combustion models? Which problems remain to be solved, who’s working on them… and are they hiring?

Longwood, Florida, isn’t the most exciting, upmarket suburb of Orlando.

Yet, every day, people drive for miles to visit a tiny showroom on 17/92 and gawk at vehicles which most of us have only ever seen in photographs. They’re not coming to look at classic cars, racing cars, or the cars of celebrities – they’re coming to see, sit in, and drive Tesla’s $70 , 00 0 al l- e lect r ic Mod el S. They’re enchanted by its luxurious style, its performance, and its impressive credentials.

They’re not just looking. Customers are buying them in increasing numbers. A year ago, Tesla Model S sales worldwide exceeded sales of comparable cars from Audi, Mercedes and BMW. Nearly 20,000 were sold in the US in 2013, and over 25,000 globally, comfortably beating Tesla’s own expectations.

“We get all types in here,” says the friendly sales guy. “Sure, there are those who look at the Tesla like a Ferrari and just want one as a fun toy. But we get kids out of college, the doctors, the lawyers, we get the guys trading in their BMWs or Lexuses, older people getting one as their retirement car, even businesses leasing them. It’s a luxury car for a lot of different people. It’s not just a niche thing any more.”

Electric Cars are Nothing New Despite our hundred-year love affair with the internal combustion engine (ICE), electric and hybrid cars have finally become cool. The technology isn’t remotely new. In fact, the hybrid car predates the 1997 Toyota Prius by nearly a century, and the electric car is even older than that.

In 1898, the 18-year old Ferdinand Porsche – yes,that Porsche – found himself in Vienna building cars with coach-builder Jacob Lohner. His first prototype, the System Lohner-Porsche Electric Voiturette, used individual, battery-powered motors to drive each wheel. Each motor delivered around 3bhp and could burst up to 7bhp for short periods, allowing it to achieve

speeds of up to 36mph — impressive, for the day. The vehicle weighed nearly 4 tons, half of which was the enormous 44-cell 80-volt lead-acid battery. The electric motors themselves accounted for another 1280 pounds.

Two years later, in 1900, at the suggestion of British coach-builder E.W. Hart, Porsche and Lohner created a hybrid version of the car, the LohnerPorsche Mixte Hybrid. In 1901, hybrid buses were in use in England, and by 1902, hybrid cars were taking part in automobile races.

And then… Porsche went to DaimlerBenz and worked purely on ICE. The electric car faded into the background for most of the 20th century.

As far back as 1966, Congress recommended electric vehicles as a way to combat pollution, but for the most part, they were consigned to powering golf carts and, in the UK, milk delivery vehicles, known colloquially as milk floats.

In 1967, the UK Electric Vehicle Association announced that more than half the world’s electric vehicles were to be found on the streets of Britain, and nearly all of those were milk floats manufactured by specialized companies like Morrison Electricar. The slow, ungainly little vehicles were beloved by the post-war Brits, largely because they were noiseless and could make their pre-breakfast deliveries without disturbing the tranquillity of leafy suburbia.

But the last ten years changed all that.

The first real commercial hybrid car, the

Toyota Prius, launched in Japan in 1997, and then across the US and Europe in 1999 to a somewhat muted reception.

There was some interest among a small n u m b er o f e co - co n s c i o us ca r enthusiasts, but the 45mpg fuel economy wasn’t really enough to persuade many drivers to switch. Honda’s firstgeneration hybrid, the Insight, delivered a far more impressive 68mpg. Over the next few years, Audi, Ford, and even Lexus followed suit with hybrids of their own, and today, most manufacturers are selling or developing hybrid or electric cars.

Electric Cars Enter the Mainstream To date, around 8 million HEVs and 400,000 PHEVs have been sold worldwide, around half of them in the USA. That’s not much compared to the 15 million conventional cars sold in 2013, but the trend is clear. Hybrids and electrics are growing in popularity and they’re here to stay.

That’s not to say that the ICE will be disappearing from our roads any time soon. “This is not a one size fits all situation,” comments Nigel J Francis, Senior Vice President of the Automotive Industry Office, Michigan Economic Development Corporation. “We have studied the global mega trends as pertinent to the global, national and regional automotive industry out to 2040 and we believe that the sustaining solution as regards powertrain will be subtly different in the different global regions. We expect to see a larger and faster deployment of EV’s in Europe and then Asia with a slower deployment of HEV and PHEV in the US and Canada.

Meantime we expect to see continued focus on the increased efficiency of both gasoline and diesel fueled vehicles and CNG (compressed natural gas) solutions for class 5/6 and class 7/8 trucks. Of course this is highly dependent on the ready and economical availability of fossil fuels in the US and Canadian markets which we believe will be the case.”

www.automark.pk | July 2014 | Page 36

Technology - Update

Hydrogen breakthrough paves way for ammonia-fuelled cars

British scientists have proposed a way of making it easier and cheaper to run hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles by filling them with ammonia.

The researchers have developed a way to cut the costs of making hydrogen from ammonia, which can be transported and stored much more easily than hydrogen in tanks similar to those already used by filling stations for liquid petroleum gas (LPG).

This method of cracking ammonia using relatively cheap sodium rather than an expensive catalyst could pave the way for fuel-cell vehicles to make their own hydrogen from a widely available chemical, rather than carrying a tank of very highpressure hydrogen and requiring expensive new infrastructure.

Alternatively, combining a small amount of hydrogen with the rest of the ammonia would enable it to be burned in an optimised but conventional internal combustion engine (ICE), the researchers from the ISIS Neutron Source facility in Oxfordshire claim.

Several major car manufacturers are planning to launch commercial hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles in the next few years, including Toyota, Honda and General Motors. But there are major fears about the difficulty of creating a hydrogen fuel infrastructure – as well as the perceived dangers of the potentially explosive gas.

Prof Bill David, whose research team at ISIS has built a 20cm3 proof-of-concept reactor, said ammonia could be stored at much lower pressures than the 700 atmospheres typically used to store hydrogen for use in vehicles.

‘We would store the ammonia at 20 atmospheres so it would be straightforward to store it on forecourts,’ he told The Engineer. ‘If you’ve got the equivalent of LPG tanks on your forecourts you don’t need to worry about expensive hydrogen infrastructure.’

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 37

International Automotive Industry - Update

Japanese automakers recall 3m vehicles globally

Japanese automakers on last month recalled nearly three million vehicles worldwide over an airbag defect that could pose a fire risk.

Honda said it recalled about 2,033,000 vehicles which were produced between August 2000 and December 2005, including more than one million in North America and 668,000 in Japan.

Two other automakers — Mazda and Nissan — also recalled hundreds of thousands of vehicles over the same problem, which was also responsible for earlier recalls by Toyota.

Japan’s Takata Corp., which made the airbag, noted its US subsidiary had manufactured the airbag, apologising for the problem and vowing to make its utmost efforts to prevent a recurrence.

“We apologise deeply for causing tremendous trouble and worries to client

GM offers $1m for each ‘faulty ignition switch’ death General Motors said on Monday that it will pay at least $1m in compensation to the families of each person killed in accidents caused by defective ignition switches in its cars.

GM has acknowledged 13 deaths linked to the ignition switch defect, but federal safety officials suggest the toll could be higher. The US automaker is being probed for not recalling the problem cars for over a decade, even after some in the company were aware of the defect.

GM began recalling 2.6 million older model cars only in February. Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer GM appointed to head the compensation fund, announced that claims will be taken from August 1 through December 31.

For each eligible death claim, in addition to the $1 million for the victim, $300,000 will be given to the surviving spouse and another $300,000 for each of t he vi ct im's survi ving dependents.....

companies, users of our products and other people concerned,” the company said in a statement.

Nissan recalled a combined 755,000 vehicles, including 128,000 in Japan and 627,000 overseas.

“In North America, 228,000 are on the recall list, with 7,000 in China,” a Nissan spokesman said.

A Mazda spokeswoman said: “The recall will cover 11,832 vehicles at home and 147,975 units overseas, mainly in Europe and China.”

Subject to Honda’s recall are a total of 13 types of vehicles in Japan including popular Fit and Accord models.

Front passenger airbag inflators could have been assembled with an improperly manufactured propellant component, Japan’s third largest automaker said.

That could cause the container of the inflator to rupture in the event of a crash, posing a fire risk or injuring passengers, it added.

The same problem has also caused top automaker Toyota to recall millions of vehicles globally. Toyota has earlier said it acted as it received a complaint from a Japanese customer who said his passenger seat was burned from the defect.—AFP

All-new Honda Jazz will be launched in Malaysia this month!

The 3rd Generation All-New Jazz maintains its well-loved and popular design concept of being practical, stylish and compact while offering an enhanced power train and completely new redesigned body. Meanwhile, the interior comfort, fuel economy, styling and driving performance is brought to a higher level.

Since the introduction of the CKD Jazz Petrol last July, Honda Malaysia have sold more than 6,770 units in less than one year. Comparatively, the CBU Jazz Petrol sales for 5 years prior to 2013 averaged at about 650 units a year.

Tata Nano expected to be launched in turbocharged variant India's most affordable car Nano from Tata Motors is due to get better and faster with time. The Indian car-maker Tata Motors has been in the news recently over reports of the F-Tronic and diesel variants being tested on local streets. As per a latest update, the Nano may be launched with a turbocharged engine and the company has been investing a considerable amount of time into its development.

The Indian car-maker for the first time has made an effort to add mechanicals that can bring about a significant difference with the car's performance.

Primarily, Tata aims at selling the Nano to true driving enthusiasts in the country. The innovation is expected to bring about a new identity to Nano as a 'Smart city car' and shed off its older image as an affordable car. Tata Spokesperson said, “Tata Motors is constantly working on upgrades, new variants, and new projects. We continue to look at new and refreshed products to be launched across various segments and, of course, test these vehicles and the same is applicable to the Nano.

Whi le we have high d egree of technology-readiness and the program offers several competitive strengths, it is difficult to predict the exact timeframe needed to create the right ecosystem for this to be a market-viable project.”

Technologically Tata Motors seems to be taking a giant leap ahead across its car segments and it has been an unspoken truth that the locals shall always wait in anticipation for new launches under its brand name. A detailed report on engine and technical specification may shall only be known post an official announcement made by the company in this regard...

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 38

Monthly AutoMark International

Yamaha introduces Blue Core tech on new FZ bikes Yamaha has revealed an all-new engine technology called Blue Core, for the Indian market. The two new FZ series motorcycles launched on Monday will cradle the new tech.

The company claims that the newgeneration Blue Core delivers higher acceleration, better fuel efficiency, reduced power losses and is also ecofriendly. It is learnt that Yamaha’s Indian R&D centre has customised Yamaha Japan’s Blue Core tech, which is claimed to offer 14 percent improved fuel economy over the existing FZ series bikes, and is compliant with BS-IV emission norms.

Yamaha’s move to introduce its in di genised Blu e C ore t ech i s reminiscent of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India’s (HMSI) Honda Eco Technology (HET) introduced a few years ago and now available across both its bike and scooter range. HET is claimed to improve fuel efficiency by 11 percent in Honda scooters and enables improved combustion, significantly reduced friction and optimised transmission.

“Blue Core technology will be leveraged on all upcoming new models including scooters by the company,” said Masaki Asano, MD, Yamaha Motor India Sales....

GM sees Cadillac’s China sales rising General Motors expects Cadillac sales in China to rise by at least 40 percent this year, as the company steps up local production in a market key to transforming Cadillac into a global luxury brand, a senior executive said.

Cadillac sales in China surged 72 percent during the first half, outpacing roughly 32 percent growth in China’s premium vehicle market, the company reported on last week.

GM China Vice President John Stadwick forecast full-year sales of 70,000 vehicles.

“If you want to be a global brand, you have to have presence in the largest (auto) market, so there’s complete focus from leadership to ensure that we do it and we do it right (in China),” Stadwick, who’s in charge of vehicle sales, service and marketing, said in an interview in Shanghai...

Peugeot/Citroen and Dongfeng's fourth China plant gets green light PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has signed an agreement with local authorities in China to proceed with the construction of a fourth factory with partner Dongfeng Motor Group, the French carmaker said today.

Work will start later this year on the plant in Chengdu, central China, which will begin production of SUVs and minivans in 2016 with an eventual annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles, PSA said in a statement.

The joint venture currently operates three plants in Wuhan, which have a total potential capacity of 750,000 units a year. With the fourth plant, production capacity will be lifted to one million units a year in 2016, PSA said.

To support the strong growth in its unit sales, DPCA signed on 2nd July an agreement with the city of Chengdu for the construction of its fourth production

facility in China. Work will get underway in the second half of the year, with the first car scheduled to roll off the new assembly lines in late 2016. With total capacity eventually reaching 300,000 vehicles a year, DPCA’s fourth plant will build Dongfeng Citroen and Dongfeng Peugeot and Fengshen-badged SUVs and MPVs. DPCA’s current production base comprises three plants in Wuhan, which are running on two shifts for a total potential capacity of 750,000 units a year.

With the fourth plant, production capacity will be lifted to one million units a year in 2016. The company’s full-year objective for 2014 is to sell more than 650,000 vehicles in China. Last 28 March, Dongfeng and PSA/PeugeotCitroen signed a global strategic partnership with the objective of selling 1.5 million vehicles by 2020.

China's Haojue bikes hit roads Karnaphuli Industries has started assembling Haojue motorcycles of China at a Tk 100-crore plant in Tongi.

The Chinese firm, Haojue Holdings, tied up with the local company to establish a foothold in the growing domestic market.

Sales of the 150cc bikes kicked off yesterday at an event at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in the city.

The bikes with a price tag of Tk 1.65 lakh will deliver a mileage of 50 kilometres per litre and hit roads across the country, said SM Nuruzzaman, senior general manager of Karnaphuli Industries.

The company plans to introduce another two models -- 100cc and 125cc -- next month.

Karnaphuli aims to sell 2,500 units of Haojue bikes this year and 13,800 units next year, Nuruzzaman told The Daily Star.

The bikes will be sold through eight showr ooms and 42 deale rs of Karnaphuli. Customers will get aftersales services for 10 years, he said, adding that the plant has a capacity of

assembling 1,500 units a month.

Haoj ue has two motorcycle manufacturing bases in Jiangmen and Changzhou in China.

H a o j u e H o l d i n g s i s al s o t h e manufacturer of Suzuki motorcycles and exporting this brand to more than 70 countries, including the USA, Australia and Japan, according to its website.

The motorcycle market in Bangladesh is heating up as Japanese auto giant Honda has already started selling locally assembled motorcycles and plans to open a manufacturing plant in the country in a couple of years. Currently, assemblers and manufacturers together sell 3 lakh to 3.5 lakh units of motorcycle a year, according to industry insiders.

The Indian Bajaj brand is the market leader in Bangladesh with its 45-49 percent share. Walton, Runner, TVS and Yamaha are the other leading brands.

Nurul Mostofa, executive director of Karnaphuli Group, the owning company of Karnaphuli Industries, also attended the event.

www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 00

MADE IN PAKISTAN MOTORCYCLES RETAIL PRICE LIST

70cc Motorcycle Sr./ No. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Product & Model Name Hero RF-70 Hero RF-70 Plus Honda CD-70 Honda CD Dream Hi-Speed SR-70 Ravi Premium R1 Road Prince bullet Road Prince 70cc

Retail Price Rs. 46,000/= Rs. 47,000/= Rs. 68,500/= Rs. 72,500/= Rs. 43,000/= Rs. 46,950/= Rs. 45,000/= Rs. 39,000/=

125cc Motorcycle No. Brand & Model Name 1. Super Star SS-125 2. Super Star SS-125 DLX 3. Honda CG-125 std Euro II 4. Honda CG-125 DX 5. Ravi Piaggio Storm 125 6. YD Sports 125cc

Retail Price Rs. 59,000/= Rs. 67,000/= Rs. 99,000/= Rs. 119,000/= Rs. 112,000/= Rs. 10,6000/=

Suzuki Motorcycle (Heavy Bikes) Sr./ No. 1.

2.

3.

4.

Product & Model Name Inazuma GW 250 Intruder M800 Hayasuba GSX1300R Bandit GSF650SA

Retail Price Rs. 725,000/= Rs. 1,600,000/= Rs. 2,500,000/= Rs. 1,500,000/=

Sr./ No. 9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

Product & Model Name Ravi Hamsafar-70 Sitara GT-70 Super Star SS-70 Super Power SP-70 Super Power Delux Unique UD-70 Bionic AS-70

Retail Price Rs. 45,450/= Rs. 40,000/= Rs. 44,000/= Rs. 44,700/= Rs. 48,200/= Rs. 44,000/= Rs. 44,500/=

100cc Motorcycle No. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Brand &Model Name Honda Pridor Super Star SS-100 Super Power SP-100 Road Price Jackpot 110cc Yamaha Junoon 100cc

Retail Price Rs. 84,000/= Rs. 57,000/= Rs. 60,000/= Rs. 44,000/= Rs. 79,300/=

Suzuki Motorcycle Sr./ No. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Product & Model Name SD110 Sprinter ECO SD110 Sprinter ECO Del

SD110 Raider GS-150 Euro-II GD 110 Euro-II

Retail Price Rs. 88,400/= Rs. 83,400/= Rs. 96,000/= Rs. 119,500/= Rs. 109,900/=

www.automark.pk Price update: July-2014 www.automark.pk | July-2014 | Page 40

Car / Light Vehicle Price List www.automark.pk SUZUKI Model Model

WAGON-R VX 1000cc Euro II WAGON-R VXR 1000cc Euro II WAGON-R VXL 1000cc Euro II MEHRAN VX 800cc Euro II MEHRAN VXR 800cc Euro II SUZUKI SWIFT 1.3L DX SUZUKI SWIFT 1.3L DLX SUZUKI SWIFT 1.3L Automatic CULTUS EFI VXR Euro II LIANA 1.3L RXI MT PETROL LIANA 1.3L RXI MT (CNG) BOLAN VAN VX 800cc E2 BOLAN VAN VX 800ccm (M)E2 SUZUKI VAN CARGO Euro II RAVI PICK-UP STD 800cc E2 RAVI PICK-UP STD 800cc (M) E2

APV 1.5L GLX MT (Petrol)

HONDA Price Price Rs. 899,000 Rs. 1049,000 Rs. 1089,000 Rs. 620,000 Rs. 678,000 Rs. 1,221,000 Rs. 1,282,000 Rs. 1,418,000 Rs. 1,034,000 Rs. 1,365,000 Rs. 1,444,000 Rs. 695,000 Rs. 7000,000 Rs. 666,000 Rs. 637,000 Rs. 642,000 Rs. 2,418,000

Model Honda Aspire Manual Honda Aspire Prosmatec Honda City Manual 1300cc Honda City Prosmatec 1300cc HYUNDAI Honda Civic VTI Manual 1800cc Honda Civic VTI Manual SR (Oriel) Honda Civic VTI Prosmatec 1800cc Honda Civic VTI Prosmatec SR (Oriel) Honda CR-Z Sports Hybird Manual Honda CR-Z Sports Hybird Automatic

TOYOTA COROLLA Model XLI VVT-i 1.3 M/T 1299cc Petrol XLI VVT-i LE 1.3 M/T 1299cc Petrol GLI VVT-i 1.3 M/T 1299cc Petrol GLI VVT-i 1299cc LE 2.OD STD 2000cc ALTIS 1.6L Dual VVT-i M/T ALTIS 1.6L Dual VVT-i MT SUNROOF ALTIS 1.6L Dual VVT-i AT ALTIS 1.6L Dual VVT-i AT SUNROOF Toyota Avanza (Up Specfication) Hiace Commuter STD 3.0L Diesel Hiace Commuter STD 2.7L - GASLOLINE Sportivo, 1600cc M/T Sportivo, 1600cc A/T Fortuner 2700cc petrol

PM Auto Industries (Pvt) Ltd. Model Faw Truck Super 3 Ton (3200cc) Faw Truck Prime 2 Ton (2600cc)

Price Rs. 1,260,000 Rs. 1,034,000

Sokon - Mini Truck (1050cc) DFSK - Mini Truck 2700MM Deck DFSK - Mini Truck 2500MM Deck DFSK - Mini Truck (Double Cabin-AC) 1400MM Deck Introductory Price DFSK - Mini Truck (Double Cabin Non-AC) 1400MM Deck Introductory Price

Rs. 763,000 Rs. 731,000 Rs. 950,000 Rs. 900,000

Sokon - MPV 11 Seater (1300cc) DFSK - MPV 11 Seater (Without AC) Rs. 1,034,000 Rs. 1,084,000 11 Seater (Dual AC) 11 Seater (Dual AC-Power Steering) Rs. 1,134,000

Model

Dual AC - Power Steering+ Power Window Sokon - Cargo Van 1050cc DFSK

Rs. 938,000 Rs. 840,000 Rs. 977,000 Rs. 740,000 Rs. 685,000

Tractor Euro Ford 85 HP Tractor Euro Ford 60 HP Tractor Euro Ford 50 HP Price List - Ex Factory (Hyderabad)

Price 1,542,500 1,557,500 1,682,500 1,712,500 1,855,800 1,912,500 2,007,500 2,012,500 2,102,500 2,575,000 3,433,000 3,433,500 2,109,000 2,217,500 5,748,500

Price

Brand New Toyota Hilux Pickup, 4x2, 2500cc Single Cabin, White only, Hilux STD

Rs. 1,859,500

Hilux Pickup 4x4 E

Rs. 1,145,000

Sokon - MPV 07 Seater (1050cc) DFSK Without AC Rs. 817,000 Rs. 887,000 With Dual AC Dual AC - Power Steering Rs. 928,000

Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs.

Hilux Pickup 4x2 sc

DAIHATSU

11 Seater (Dual AC - Power Price Model Steering +Power Window)

Price Rs. 1,772,000 Rs. 1,914,000 Rs. 1,612,000 Rs. 1,763,000 Rs. 2,185,000 Rs. 2,417,000 Rs. 2,306,000 Rs. 2,538,000 Rs. 3,286,000 Rs. 3,366,000

Model

Price

Toyota HILUX 2494cc, Diesel Turbo Charger Common Rail Engine, 4x4 Double Cabin - Standard Model

TOYOTA VIGO DAIHATSU Model Model

Price Price

Rs. 3,109,500

AL-HAJ FAW MOTORS Model

Vigo Champ M/T Rs. 3,423,500 FAW Carrier (WHITE ,BLACK,STRONG BLUE & SILVER) FAW X-PV Std Vigo Champ A/T Rs. 3,623,500 FAW X-PV A/c (WHITE ,BLACK,STRONG BLUE & SILVER) Sirius S80

Monthly AutoMark Magazine - International

Price Rs. Rs. Rs. Rs.

699,000 799,000 844,000 1699,000

Price updated July- 2014