Web Desk
Indus Motor Company (IMC), the makers of Toyota vehicles in Pakistan, has announced that it would invest $100 million in the local production of hybrid electric vehicles while benefiting from from the incentives provided to the auto sector by the government.
The $100mn amount will be invested over the period of three years, said the company in its filing to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Wednesday.
The announcement comes after Toyota Motor Corp, IMC’s parent company, said that it expected to spend more than $13.5 billion by 2030 to develop lithium ion batteries and its battery supply system as the move to hybrid electric vehicles gathers steam.
“We are pleased to announce that, based on the incentives provided against certain taxes and duties as announced by the Government of Pakistan through Finance Act, 2021 and subsequent SROs, the company has evaluated and plans to invest an estimated aggregate amount of $100 million, over the period of next 3 years for the local production of Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) in Pakistan,” said Indus Motor.
IMC said that the announced investment shall be made towards plant upgradation and extension, localisation of parts or components and production preparation or assembling of the first Hybrid Electric Vehicle, by the company at its plant in Port Qasim Authority, Karachi.
The company’s share price increased over 2.3% on Wednesday even as the KSE-100 Index — the benchmark for market performance — fell, reacting to the MSCI decision.
The Indus Motor Company posted net sales revenue of Rs179.2 billion in the year ended June 2021, a 108% increase compared to Rs86.2 billion in the previous year. Meanwhile, profit after tax increased by 151% to Rs12.8 billion from Rs5.1 billion.
During the year, the sales volume of CKD and CBU vehicles increased by 100%, to 57,731 units as against 28,837 units sold last year. Consequential to increased demand, the company produced 59,187 units for the year, as compared to 28,519 units produced in the same period last year.
Recently, Chief Executive IMC Ali Asghar Jamali stated that his company supported the government’s ‘Make in Pakistan’ initiative, especially measures to reduce Federal Excise Duty and Additional Customs Duty.
“Additionally, the government’s consistent effort to promote the local automotive industry in the Hybrid sub-sector is noteworthy. Its intent to locally develop HEVs, Plug-in Hybrids (PHEVs) and Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) to mitigate climate change and reduce dependency on oil imports is appreciated,” said Jamali.
