KARACHI: Indus Motors Company (IMC), the Toyota vehicle manufacturer, decided to close all production during the remaining days of September, bringing the total number of "non-production days" (NPD) to 15 in the month due to Continuous fall in demand.
An IMC official, who asked not to be identified, said the company had already observed eight NPDs in July and 11-12 NPDs in August.
He said the federal excise tax (EDF) of 2.5-7.5 percent on several motor-capacity cars, dizzying prices because of the dollar-rupee parity along with the additional customs tariff on imported parts and raw materials and the High interest rates had cost most of their vehicles out of the market. For September, "half of the current month is free," the official said.
Sources said the IMC plant and dealer network across the country has accumulated an unsold inventory of more than 3,000 vehicles. The plant is operating at 50pc capacity in September.
Meanwhile, a Toyota seller confirmed to Dawn that the production of BMI would remain closed from September 20 to 30.
The production and sales of Toyota Corolla fell to 5,308 units and 3,708 units, respectively, in July-August of 8,804 and 8,770 units in the same period last fiscal year, representing a fall of 40 and 57pc respectively.
Toyota Hilux production and sales plummeted to 793 units and 716 units of 1,383 and 1,292 units, a drop of 42 and 44 units respectively. In addition, the production and sales of Toyota Fortuner were reduced to 232 units and 162 units of 484 units and 424 units, a drop of 52pc and 62pc respectively.
Posted on Dawn, September 20, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1506271/indus-motors-shuts-down-plant