Honda Atlas announced a substantial price reduction of up to Rs140,000 on two variants of its popular Honda City on Friday. This adjustment follows a similar move made by the Indus Motor Company for its Toyota Yaris vehicles. The revised pricing for both Honda vehicles will take effect on March 15.
The Honda City MT 1.2L will now be priced at Rs4.649 million, reflecting a reduction of Rs50,000. Additionally, the price of the City CVT 1.2L has been lowered by Rs140,000, resulting in a new price of Rs4.689 million.
Previously, Toyota had announced price cuts across its Yaris sedan lineup, ranging from Rs73,000 to Rs133,000.
Both Honda and Toyota's initiatives are direct responses to the recent imposition of a 25% sales tax on automobiles priced above Rs4 million.
Pakistan's automotive sector has been facing various challenges, including high interest rates and escalating production costs, contributing to an upward trend in car prices and dampening sales.
During the initial eight months of fiscal year 2023–24, total car sales plummeted to 59,699 units, marking a sharp decline of 41% compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, which saw sales of 101,426 units. Fiscal year 2022–23 also witnessed a significant downturn, with sales dropping by 56% to a mere 126,879 units.