Recent price hikes have caught the government’s attention prompting it to, once again, consider fixing car prices. However, Pakistan Automotive Manufacturer’s Association (PAMA) has voiced its objection to it.
As per a recent media report, PAMA’s notion is that Pakistan is a free market, whereby it is a carmaker’s right to revise the prices as and when required. PAMA’s Director-General Abdul Waheed Khan stated that:
The auto industry is linked to the international market. The raw material and parts’ cost are very different and the government cannot fix car prices.
He argued that Pakistan’s market reacts to global economic trends. If the country had a dictatorship-like centralized economic structure, only then the government could fix car prices.
He said that the carmakers are cooperating with the government in their inquiry regarding recent price hikes. However, the government is planning to solicit an impartial opinion to examine the matter, Waheed added.
PAC’s Stance
The last few days have seen several carmakers revise prices. All automakers have pointed toward soaring raw material costs, freight charges, and local currency devaluation as reasons for price hikes.
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has taken notice of the hefty price revisions. In a recent meeting, Chairman PAC Rana Tanveer Hussain grilled automakers for running “a nationwide Ponzi scheme” by increasing the prices of obsolete cars.
According to a recent report, the Ministery of Trade and Commerce, Industries and Production, and Engineering Development Board (EDB) have procured the services of a third party to conduct a thorough investigation of the recent price hikes.
The government’s intervention will likely cause the industry and the authorities to lock horns in the coming days.
Via: The News
