Auto price war: a boon for some and bane for others

An unexpected, massive cut in the price of Kia Stonic has triggered a price war among auto assemblers for some models, forcing Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd (PSMCL) to make its Swift models cheaper by up to Rs710,000. The new prices of Suzuki Swift GL MT, GL CVT and GLX CVT are Rs4.336 million, Rs4.560m and Rs 4.719m, down by Rs85,000, Rs159,000 and Rs710,000, respectively, with effect from May 1, according to a PSMCL notification issued to dealers. Shafiq Ahmed Shaikh, who heads the corporate affairs department of PSMCL, said the price cut in Swift models has been done for some time due to economic stability and steadiness in rupee-dollar parity. He also pointed out that the government had imposed no taxes and duties of late. On April 29, Lucky Motor Corporation Limited (LMCL) made a huge price cut of Rs1.513m in the price of Kia Stonic EX Plus, bringing it down to Rs4.767m from Rs6.280m.