Used car imports fall sharply

KARACHI: The government’s January move to abolish the baggage scheme for used car imports and enforce mandatory pre-shipment inspections for gifted and resident-transferred vehicles is now showing results, with arrivals in this category declining.

Indus Motor Company (IMC) in its annual report FY26 mentioned that “the import of used vehicles has plunged to approximately 38,000 units in FY26 from 42,000 units in FY25.”

IMC said these policy measures are expected to further reduce the inflow of used-vehicle imports in the coming years, improving utilisation of the domestic automotive industry’s installed production capacity.

Despite this progress, imported used vehicles still account for 19 per cent of total sales, as reported by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), representing a significant share of the domestic market.

IMC said that this is despite the fact that Pakistani consumers today have access to 31 brands and more than 100 locally assembled models, offering a wide range of choices across all major segments.

However, the domestic auto industry is currently operating at less than 50 per cent of its installed production capacity, leaving substantial manufacturing capability underutilised.

IMC said improved capacity utilisation would enhance value addition, create employment, accelerate localisation, strengthen the vendor base and increase the sector’s contribution to Pakistan’s GDP.

All Pakistan Car Dealers and Importers Association (APCDIA) Patron-in-Chief Mian Shoaib Ahmed told Dawn on Saturday that no units have arrived since the ban on the baggage scheme, and used vehicle imports under the gift scheme are also negligible.

When asked whether overall automobile imports are rising, he said this is because of increasing imports of new cars.

According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), imports of completely built-up (CBU) units surged by 36pc to $377.7 million in FY26 compared to $278m in FY25.

In July, CBU imports slowed to $57m from $70m in June, while imports were $33m in July 2025.

A number of new entrants have been importing new CBU models, particularly electric vehicles, to gauge consumer response before moving towards local assembly. As a result, imports of new vehicles are rising.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2026