Pak Suzuki halts motorcycle production till March 31

Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMU) on Friday announced its decision to shut down its motorcycle plant for 12 days, citing a shortage of inventory as a major reason.

In the notice sent to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the PSMC said that management has decided to shut down the motorcycle plant from March 20 to March 31 due to a shortage of inventory.

The two-wheeler maker, however, clarified that the automobile plant will remain operative.

The company is the local assembler, manufacturer and marketer of Suzuki cars, pickups, vans, 4x4s and motorcycles as well as related spare parts. Meanwhile, the Suzuki brand itself is from Japan.

PSMC last month had temporarily shut down its automobile plant from February 13 to 17, and then again from February 20 to 21, citing an inventory shortage back then as well.

The company had said at the time that the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) mechanism for prior approval for imports “adversely impacted clearance of import consignment which resultantly affected the inventory levels”.

Pakistan’s auto industry, highly dependent on imports, has been caught in the midst of a crisis, as the SBP, after unabated rupee depreciation, imposed restrictions on the opening of letters of credit (LCs). Industries are facing hindrances in operations as the country’s reserves remained low.

Last week, Honda Atlas Cars Pakistan Limited announced the longest plant shutdown to date in the current economic crisis amongst the country's automakers.

The company, a unit of Japanese car giant Honda Motor Co Ltd, said its plant would shut from March 9, 2023, to March 31, 2023.