Market Trend and Outlook

Pakistan’s economy slowed sharply in FY23 with real GDP estimated to have contracted by 0.6%. According to the World Bank’s latest Pakistan Development Update: Restoring Fiscal Sustainability, released on October 3rd 2023, the decline in economic activity reflects the cumulation of domestic and external shocks including the floods of 2022, government restrictions on imports and capital flows, domestic political uncertainty, surging world commodity prices, and tighter global financing.

In particular the continuous floods started in June of 2022 have affected many live in Pakistan, causing more than 1500 death, over 12,000 injuries and displacing around 33 million people. The heavy rain also destroyed many cars both on the road and in dealerships, inducing a collapse in the countries vehicle industry.

The Pakistani Vehicle Market, in fact, hasn’t yet recovered, with sales in October 2023 continuing to fall, posting the 16th consecutive monthly loss with 6,121 new registrations (-54.0%). YTD figures at 69,481 are down 63.4% from the prior year.

Looking at cumulative data up to October 2023 brand-wise, the leader is Suzuki, in 1st with 31,749 sales (-68.9%), in front of Toyota at 18,355 (-62.3%), Honda  with 8,745 new registrations (-67.6%) and Hyundai with 7,752 units sold (-34.5%).

Haval rises into 5th with 2,179 sales, Chery follows in 6th with 562 new registrations and BAIC in 7th with 139 units sold (-62.2%).

Looking at specific models the Suzuki Alto is the best seller with an 67.2% year-on-year loss in volume, followed by the Toyota Corolla down 69.7%.

Medium-Term Market Trend

Pakistani automotive industry is closed to import by the huge duties imposed by the government. The industry is so deputy to a small group of foreign (Japanese) companies which have invested years ago to produce locally, which offer dated models at huge (for the local purchase power) price.

Consumers have very limited choice as model, specification, negotiation.

The most of people prefer to purchase a motorcycle instead of car for personal use and the car industry is very small compared to the population living in the country.

Anyhow, the light vehicles market was growing up until the 2019 introduction of additional duties, with the all-time record established in the 2018 at 264K.

In 2019 the market fell down for increased prices correlated with increased taxes and in 2020 collapsed again for the effect of covid restrictions, hitting the lowest level in the last 15 years.

Despite surging 89.4% in 2021, the market took a substantial hit in 2022. In June of 2022 Pakistan started to experienced heavy floods that destroyed the country and induced the automotive industry to collapse. In fact, the last 6 months of the year reported losses, with total sales reaching 231,248 by the end of 2022 (-4.8%).

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Group and top 10 Models.

Market Trend and Outlook

The Japanese Auto Market in October 2023 grows for the 14th month in a row, with new sales reaching 214,235 (+15.4%). YTD figures at 2.22 million are up 20.4% from the previous year.

Looking at cumulative data up to October 2023, brand-wise Toyota maintains 1st with 1.16 million sales (+33.0%), followed by Nissan at 218,223 (-1.2%), Honda at 212,163 registrations (+6.1%), Mazda at 119,019 (+9.6%), Suzuki with 101,158 sales (+22.9%), Lexus at 82,738 (+132.9%) and Subaru with 70,816 new registrations (+5.4%).

Mercedes ranks in 8th with 41,193 sales (+3.4%), in front of Mitsubishi with 39,582 sales (-6.4%) and BMW closing the Top 10 with 27,684 new car registrations (+10.9%).

Looking at specific models the Honda N-Box is the best seller with a 13.5% increase in year-on-year sales, followed by the Toyota Yaris which is up 13.0%.

Medium-Term Market Trend

The Japanese auto-market in the last decade hasn’t performed amazingly. With its last great rise in 2012 (+26%), sales have remained between the 5 and 5.5 million range until 2019 with the peak reached in 2014.

With the global pandemic in 2020 the entire world economy slowed down drastically, stores and manufactures closing down and most economies taking a beating. The Japanese auto market was no exception falling 12.5% and bringing sales to the mid 4 million range. Although the Japanese market did drop compared to other economies it stood its ground relatively well.

In the last few years the Japanese auto market hasn’t recovered from the fall in 2020. External factors are to blame for this fall in demand for automotives: firstly the lack of raw materials has lead car manufacturers to raise prices and waiting times for cars; another reason is that more and more manufacturers are pushing towards electric that on average costs much more than a diesel or petrol car. This being said despite the terrible performance in 2022, the Japanese market still maintains one of the largest auto markets in the world.

With 2023 starting off strong, this might be the year in which the Japanese Market finally starts to revoker from the covid driven collapse in 2020.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Group and top 10 Models.

Market Trend and Outlook

The National Development Council (NDC) stated on the 16th of October that its most recent forecasts show Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) growing by about 1.5 percent in 2023 amid improvements for the export-oriented manufacturing sector. This forecast is consistent with data from the second and third quarter of 2023, showing that the economy grew 1.7% and 2.1% respectively.

Interestingly enough the rebound reported in Q2, following two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction, was driven by private consumption , which increased 12.1% (y/y). This  figure is consistent with the year-on-year growth of YTD sales in the Taiwanese Vehicle Market. In September 2023 it grows for the 8th month in a row after a -18.9% in January, with new sales reaching 37,079 (+3.5%). YTD figures at 350,893 are up 12.8% from the prior year.

Looking at cumulative data up to September 2023 brand-wise, the leader remains Toyota with 91,952 sales (-0.4%), far in front of Lexus -up 5 spots- with just 24,094 sales (+67.3%).

Honda falls 1 spot 3rd with 20,516 sales (+0.7%), followed by Mercedes at 18,182 sales (+7.1%), Ford at 17,405 (-3.9%), Hyundai -up 4 spots- at 16,965 registrations (+46.1%) and Nissan -down 3 spots- in 7th with 16,189 sales (-6.9%).

CMC falls 3 spots into 8th with 14,374 sales (-15.3%), in front of Tesla at 14,342 (-105.3%) and BMW closing the Top 10 with 14,000 sales (+4.8%).

Looking at specific models the Toyota Corolla Cross is the best seller despite a 7.0% loss from the previous year, followed by the Toyota Town Ace up 81.9% and 8 spots in the rankings.

Medium-Term Market Trend

The Taiwanese market has presented an overall growth in recent years, rising from 327,615 sales in 2010 to 438,145 in 2019. Despite the overall increase in demand between 2010 and 2019 , there have been some minor losses: -1.6% in 2012, -0.5% in 2015 and -3.0% in 2018.

In 2020 the Taiwanese Government was able to contain the Covid-19 virus through effective quarantines and avoid extreme measures like the lockdown. Mainly for these reasons the light vehicles market reached the current all-time high of 454,783 sales (+3.8).

Demand for light vehicles fell 1.1% in 2021 and in 2022 dropped even further (-4.0%). A combination of factors were behind the industry struggle: a disruption in the global supply chain caused by a lack of raw materials, in particular for the production of microchips, and the Governments push towards Evs.

These factors will continue to put downward pressure on sales in the Taiwanese market, that in the first months of 2023 has already shown signs of struggle.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for top 10 Brands.

Market Trend and Outlook

Continuous rain since the beginning of June 2022 has affected many lives in Pakistan, especially in Sindh and Balochistan provinces. The flood, considered the worst in the Country’s history, has killed more than 1,500 people, more than 12,000 people were injured, and more than 33 million people were displaced.

Due to the heavy rainfall and landslides, roads were swept away, bridges collapsed, and houses were surrounded by floodwater. The communities are currently experiencing flood-related diseases such as diarrhea, dengue, malaria, and malnutrition due to massive devastation to crops and livestock. Many live in temporary shelters as their houses were destroyed during the massive flood in July and August.

Vehicles at home or in the road on the dealerships have been destroyed by the flood and the people’s priority dramatically shifted to surviving. Of course new vehicles market collapsed in this period and before recovering will need time.

The Pakistani Vehicles Market in 2022 totals 225,050 registrations, a 4.7% decrease from 2021. Sales in December at 16,921 fell for the 6th month in a row (-37.8%).

Looking at cumulative data from 2022 brand-wise, all brands in the rankings remain in the same position as the previous year. Suzuki in 1st with 125,947 sales (+2.6%), followed by Toyota at 54,769 (-20.8%), Honda with 31,006 (-11.8%) and finally Hyundai at 12.882 sales (+44.7%).

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Group and top 10 Models.

Market Trend and Outlook

The Taiwanese vehicle market in 2022 totals 415,597 sales, a 4.0% decrease from the prior year. These are the lowest levels of sales since 2015. In December demand grew 5.2%, with 41,188 new registrations .

Looking at cumulative data from 2022 brand-wise, the leader remains Toyota with 123,441 sales (-2.2%), far in front of Honda with just 27,373 sales (-4.1%).

Ford falls 1 spot into 3rd with 24,648 sales (-18.9%), followed by Nissan at 24,137 sales (-13.9%), Mercedes at 23,383 (-16.1%), CMC at 21,819 registrations (-10.1%) and Mitsubishi in 7th with 20,711 sales (+2.1%).

Lexus ranks in 8th with 19,327 sales (-8.1%), in front of BMW at 16,708 (-9.6%) and Hyundai closing the Top 10 with 15,593 sales (+18.7%).

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for top 10 Brands.

Market Trend and Outlook

The Japanese auto market in 2022 totals 2.22 millions sales, a 7.4% decrease from the prior year and the lowest level of the past decade. In December sales fell 5.4%, with 180,040 new registrations. 

Looking at cumulative data from 2022, brand-wise the top 7 remain unchanged compared to the previous year: Toyota in 1st with 1.04 millions sales (-14.2%), followed by Honda at 263,034 (-1.9%), Nissan at 236,813 registrations (+4.5%), Mazda at 126,616 (+5.3%), Suzuki with 101,382 sales (+2.2%), Subaru at 81,420 (-2.0%) and Mercedes with 52,391 cumulative sales (+1.3%).

Mitsubishi moves up 3 spots into 8th with 49,177 sales (+42.4%), in front of Lexus -down 1 spot- with 41,252 sales (-19.3%) and Daihatsu closing the Top 10 with 36,299 new car registrations (-7.8%).

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Group and top 10 Models.

Market Trend

The Malaysian car market this year attempted to recover from the pandemic crash of 2020 and reported a very promising performance in the first half, followed by another double-digit fall.

The market grew uninterruptedly from 2012 to 2015 hitting the all-time record with 666.745 units, before declining in 2016 to 583,219 and again in 2017. In 2018 the market started recovering, registering 598,742 units (+3.8%), pushed by the temporary removal of the 6% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on all car purchases since June. In 2019 the market was stable. Indeed, the full year ended with 604,893 registrations, improving 10.3% from the previous year.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic sales fell in  2020. In fact, 529,829 units have been sold, reporting a decline of 12.4% compared to 2019.

In 2021 the year started positively for the Malaysian market, in fact, in Q1 139,499 units have been sold, reporting a 31.3% increase in sales compared to Q1 2020, and in Q2 sales started growing quickly, reporting a 56.6% increase in sales with 106,197 units due to the low volumes in Q2 2020.

In Q3 sales dropped quickly, losing 58.7% sales with 68,861 units, and remained almost flat in Q4 (-0.6%) with 187,415 units.

Indeed, Full-Year sales for 2021 have been 501,972, reporting a 5.2% decrease compared to 2020.

Brand-wise, this year the leader Perodua (-13.6%) lost 3.6% market share and reported the worst performance on the leaderboard, followed by Proton (+2.9%), which gained 1.8% share. Toyota gained 22.4%, gaining 3.2% share.  Honda fell in 4th place (-12.3%), followed by Mitsubishi which reported the best performance on the leaderboard gaining 90.9% rose 2 spots.

Nissan -down 1 spot- lost 13.2%, followed by Mazda -down 1 spot- which lost 12.2%, and Isuzu which gained 6.9% sales. Closing the leaderboard we have Ford losing 11.7% and rising 1 spot, and Hino entering the leaderboard and gaining 15.1%.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands and top 10 Groups.

Market Trend

Brand-wise, this year the leader Toyota (+0.1%) gained 0.3% market share, followed by the rising Ford (+12.1%) -up 4 spots-, which gained 0.8% share. Honda closed the podium and lost  0.5% share, falling 8.3%.  Nissan fell in 4th place and reported a loss of 16.7%, followed by Mercedes which lost 7.7%.

Taiwanese vehicles market (cars+LCVs) in recent years grew up with a series of all-time record and breaking the 400,000 units milestone in 2014. On this road, during 2017 sales hit a new record, the second in a row, with 446,669 units sold (+1.6%).

However, in 2018 the vehicles market decelerated, closing registrations at the lowest volume since 2015, with 432,314 sales (-3.2%) while in 2019 sales were at 435,915.

Full-Year sales for 2020 have been 451,235, reporting an increase of 3.5% compared to 2019.

In 2021 the year started positively for the Taiwanese market, in fact, in Q1 121,575 units have been sold, reporting a 17.1% increase in sales compared to Q1 2020, while in Q2 sales started falling slightly, reporting a 5.2% decrease in sales with 100,234 units.

In Q3 sales kept falling slowly, losing 2.8% sales with 112,345 units, and in Q4 the sharpest drop of the year was recorded, dropping 10.8% with 115,705 units.

Indeed, Full-Year sales for 2021 have been 449,859, reporting a 1.1% decrease compared to 2020.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for top 10 Brands.

Market Trend

The Pakistani car market this year recovered extremely effectively from the pandemic crash of 2020 and reported a very positive performance all year, with the largest growth in Q2 due to the low levels of Q2 2020.

The market has been unstable in the 2010-2014 period of time, registering a sharp fall in 2013, before embarking on a positive pathway in the following years. In 2017 the market was sustained by robust internal demand, reaching 247,330 sales (+18.3%), followed by the current all-time record in 2018 at 264,442 (+6.9%).

However, in 2019, the market has imploded due to a tax introduction, making new car imports negligible. As a result, the Full-year ended at 192,814 units sold, losing 27.1% from the previous year.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic sales fell in  2020. In fact, 127,939 units have been sold, reporting a decline of 33.6% compared to 2019.

In 2021 the year started positively for the Pakistan market, in fact, in Q1 56,031 units have been sold, reporting a 73.3% increase in sales compared to Q1 2020, and in Q2 sales accelerated, reporting a 249% increase in sales with 47,812 units due to the incredibly low volumes in Q2 2020.

In Q3 sales kept rising quickly, gaining 84.4% sales with 70,623 units, and in Q4 sales increased by 56.9% with 68,420 units.

Indeed, Full-Year sales for 2021 have been 242,886, reporting a 89.8% increase compared to 2020.

Brand-wise, this year the leader Suzuki (+107.9%) gained 3.7% market share, followed by Toyota (+71.5%), which lost 3.5% share. Honda lost 3% share, gaining 59.3%. 

Hyundai remained in 4th place (+372.6%), followed by Isuzu -up 1 spot- which reported the best performance by gaining 459.1%. Master gained 131.8%, followed by Hino -down 2 spots- which gained 19%, Jac which rose 83.2% and BAIC.

The most sold vehicle this year has been the Suzuki Alto (+128.6%) with 53,887 units sold, followed by the Toyota Yaris, which gained 102.3% registering 28,673 new sales this year. The Toyota Corolla (+37.2%) closes the podium and reports 25,831 new units sold.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top Manufacturers Group and top 10 Models.

Market Trend in November

The Japanese car market this year attempted to recover from the pandemic crash of 2020 and reported a very promising performance in the first half, followed by another double-digit fall.

It is the third biggest market in the world, with an annual volume oscillating in the last decade between 4.9 and 5.5 million units, with 2019 ending at 5.2 million units.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic sales fell in  2020. In fact, sales have been 4.598.610, reporting a decline of 11.6% compared to 2019.

In 2021 the year started positively for the Japanese market, in fact, in Q1 1.43 units have been sold, reporting a 4.2% increase in sales compared to Q1 2020, while in Q2 sales started growing quickly, reporting a 23.8% increase in sales with 1.03 million units due to the incredibly low volumes in Q2 2020.

In Q3 sales started falling in double-digits, losing 14.8% sales with 1,02 million units, and kept falling 19.2% in Q4 with 968,238 units.

Indeed, Full-Year sales for 2021 have been 4.45 million, reporting a 3.3% decrease compared to 2020.

Brand-wise, this year the leader Toyota (-2.1%) gained 0.4% market share and. In second place we have Suzuki (-3.6%), maintaining 13.7% share, followed by Honda which lost 0.4% share, falling 6.4%.  Daihatsu remained in 4th place and lost 3.4%, followed by Nissan which lost 3.6%.

Mazda remained in 6th place and lost 11.2%, followed by Subaru (-4%) and Mitsubishi which reported the best performance in the leaderboard and gained 10.5% sales. Closing the leaderboard we have Isuzu losing 5.5% this year and Hino in last place losing just 0.1%.

The most sold vehicle this year is the Toyota Yaris (+40.3%) with 212,927 units sold, followed by the Honda N-Box registering 188,940 new sales this year. The Toyota Roomy (+54.5%) closes the podium and reports 134,801 new units sold.

Tables with sales figures

In the tables below we report sales for all Brands, top 10 Manufacturers Group and top 10 Models.