Pakistan’s first ever indigenous car close to launch
The country’s only home grown automotive firm, the Adam Motor Company, says the first vehicle will be unveiled in early April and until then the car’s name is a secret.
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It has however been tested both at Adam’s Bin Qasim plant and on the road.
Chief executive Feroz Khan claimed it had already completed a 24,000 mile test.
“Initially it was driven from Karachi to Ormara in 43 degree celsius and then from Karachi to Peshawar once via Lahore and Islamabad and finally to Quetta thrice. It has proved successful.”
Adam are promising two models in the ‘economy’ 800 to 1,000ccc range.
So far the company have only manufactured marketed jeeps and trucks in the home market. Khan is upbeat about the car’s chances insisting: “Customers will get much more than their expectations.”
The new Pak motor is certainly facing stiff competition.
Suzuki was the first, and is still the market leader, followed by Toyota, which owns Indus Motors (Pakistani firm), Honda and more recently Daihatsu and Hyundai. The Chinese are also threatening to build plants on Pakistani soil.
On top of this, protection for the Pakistani car industry under Word Trade Organisation rules comes to an end this year. The Government have applied for an extension to the protection but, Pakistan’s ‘friend’, the Bush government, have opposed this.
The new all-Pakistan car will really have to get motoring to beat these obstacles. But, at least, Pakistan can boast it has one thing that Britain has not got, a car industry of its own!
