Toyota shuts down its production plant till 30th Dec

The company disclosed that due to the central bank restrictions on imports of completely knocked-down (CKD), it is unable to continue production of cars and other vehicles

KARACHI:  The best-selling car in Pakistan ‘Toyota’, Indus Motor Company (IMC) on Monday announced a temporary plant shutdown from December 20 to December 30 following the insufficient inventory.

In a notification at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) website, the company disclosed that due to the central bank restrictions on imports of completely knocked-down (CKD), it is unable to continue production of cars and other vehicles.

This will be the third time that Toyota will observe non-production days in 2022.  Earlier, the company had stopped production from September 1 to September 16 and August 1 to August 13 due to the same reasons.

The notification said “Toyota has cited insufficient inventory levels due to the State Bank’s restrictions on imports of completely knocked-down (CKD) kits as the main reason for its actions.”

Throughout 2022, Toyota has blamed the central bank for single handedly forcing it to observe a cumulative of 41 non-production days.

It has not been alone in doing so. Suzuki and Honda had also previously blamed it for the 20 and 15 non-production days the two had observed respectively.

The State Bank’s announcement regarding CKD imports came only a day after the government imposed an import ban on luxury items in an attempt to stem foreign exchange outflows.

Because of depreciation local current against the American greenback, IMC had enhanced the prices of Corolla Altis 1.8 CVT cars in Pakistan. The company compelled to hike the prices of its vehicles owing to the forex fluctuations and cost of manufacturing.

The IMC announced to hike the prices of Corolla 1.6 CVT (Special Edition) and three variants of Toyota Hilux Revo up to Rs 700,000.

In the last notification, the company claimed. “In addition, the uncertainties in forex fluctuations, increase in utilities and overheads have also impacted the cost of manufacturing; thus IMC is compelled to pass on some impact to the market.”

The company notification said, the new price of Corolla Altis 1.8 CVT is Rs 5.639 million compared to the old Rs 5.269 million. The company has increased by Rs 370,000 on its one brand.

The new ex-factory price will be effective on all new orders on or after November 29, 2022.

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