After signing an agreement with Toyota Egypt, Indus Motor Company (IMC), which assembles Toyota vehicles in Pakistan, has joined the club of automakers that export vehicles to other countries. Other notable names in this club include Master Changan Motors Limited (MCML) and Sazgar Engineering Works Limited (SEWL).
Toyota IMC Sends First Shipment to Toyota Egypt
According to a report from Business Recorder, Toyota IMC sent its first shipment in July. The company’s press release stated that the first shipment of semi-processed raw material has been sent to Toyota Egypt. The signing of this agreement marks the beginning of a new era for Pakistan as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in terms of exports. Plans are in place to continue in this direction.
Toyota IMC CEO Sees Significance and Cautions
Toyota IMC CEO Ali Asghar Jamali called it a significant development but cautiously stated that it is “too early” to call it a turning point for the faltering auto industry of Pakistan. Pakistan’s auto industry heavily relies on imports and has been under pressure due to restrictions on Letters of Credit (LC) and limited foreign exchange reserves. While the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has loosened restrictions, achieving normalcy will take time.
This is a baby step at the moment. Currently, we have raw material constraints in the country. It would stop us from exporting huge quantities. But I am hopeful. If their [Egypt’s] confidence is built, we may be asked to export more parts. Even if we manage to export one part to many markets, it would increase our export numbers. We hope that other manufacturers would also get confidence and find avenues to export as well.
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