ISLAMABAD: French carmaker Renault announced last week that it is entering the Pakistani market.
The company said it had signed definitive agreements with Al-Futtaim, a Dubai-based firm, for “exclusive assembly at a new state-of-the-art plant in Karachi and distribution of Renault vehicles in Pakistan”.
The two partners expect the plant will be built starting the first quarter of next year. Car sales are planned to start in 2019, ramping up in 2020.
Renault said the company aims to become a major player in Pakistan, bringing its latest products and cutting-edge technology to set new benchmarks of safety and quality. Indeed, Pakistan offers a huge opportunity to carmakers as demand for cars and commercial vehicles is growing at an annual rate of more than 10 per cent.
“With a population of more than 200 million, a rapidly growing economy and a vibrant middle-class are likely to push the market size from fewer than 300,000 units at present to more than half a million by 2020,” Syed Nabeel Hashmi, a leading Lahore-based auto-parts maker and exporter.
The road network being built across the country under the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will continue to provide additional, major impetus to auto sales over the next several years.
“With half of its population below 30 years and car penetration as low as 13 vehicles per 1,000 people, Pakistan is one of the last remaining populous countries to go through rapid growth in motorisation. Which other market in the world matches the opportunities offered by Pakistan to global carmakers? None,” he says.
