Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

Let say, anything in the class of Corolla/Civic and up. Those small suzukis and Kias would lose a lot of effeciency if they weren’t manual.

One would think that due to the heavy traffic and congested roads, people would be willing to pay for automatic transmission.

Some reaons I can think of…

  1. More expensive. Auto is usually $1000 - $1500 more expensive in the US, and that converts to big money in Pakistan. But then again, the average person isn’t buying a brand new Corolla or Civic. It takes a little bit more money to buy such cars.

  2. Expensive and more complex to repair. But labor is cheap in Pakistan.

Do they offer automatic transmission as an option in Pakistan?

Additionally, why are most Japanese cars in the Mid East manual? I remember in KSA Japanese cars were by default manual, and American didn’t even come in manual.

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

North America is the only place where cars are auto by default.

In Europe, all cars are manual by default; many cars have engines that are manual-only.

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

I love driving manual transmission cars, but hate driving manual cars in traffic, that constant stop and go is just too much.

autos are boring in general

so u go with soemthing which has the best of both..tiptronic

anyways going back to the question, they do have automatic transmission cars in pakistan, but i dont know if they were special imports or not.

never bought a car in pak so have zero idea about what they have or dont have

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

because there aren't enough women drivers in Pakistan?

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

I sure miss the very affordable Car-Maintance that's available in Pakistan. Right now I am driving around in my rickety Toyoto Corolla with a big fat Pink 'Rejected' on the windshield ( long sigh)
It failed inspection because the back light has a tiny crack, called aound for estimates and the damn thing costs $129 ( for the part only) Called the Junk yards and no luck, fianlly found one online for $65.
I need to get this fixed so I can renew my registration by the end of the month-don't want a big fat traffic ticket on top of the sheer indignity of drivng aorund in a Pinnk labeled REJECT .

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

hina.. ebay man..ebay

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

I say,

You drive a (manual) car.
(An Automatic) Car drives you.

I like to drive.

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

Tried there, same price range and the guy wanted $20 fro shipping and handling. I tell you: You can question them on 'Shipping' costs but the 'handling part' of the deal makes it perfectaly 'Ok' for them to charge an arm n and a leg.
The other place has Free shipping but still it hurts

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

Lately I've been shying away from ebay. One of the reasons being the "handling" charge as Hina posted. Second reason, if you do find something at a good price and are waiting for the auction to finish somebody comes in at the last mnt and outbids you by 10 cents. Very frustrating. I haven't bought anything off of ebay for a couple of years now, and i used to an avid ebayer. I don't know if those sellers have other agents that up the bids, sometimes making it go over the actual market value of the item.

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

There were not many mechanics available who could fix auto transmission in Pakistan (few years back, dont know now). The repair cost was very expensive.
Also the show offs (ameer Zaday) in our beloved country who like to spin and screeche their Civics and Corollas will not be able to do that in Auto transmissions

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

^ There are still Mechanics present In PAK who can do quite a lot of things with Cars, Rickshaws', Chingchis' etc you, just need to have good contacts. :D

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

yaaar, from what I have heard ammerzaday drive bmws and fancy sports cars now and not civics and corollas.

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

everytime i went to Pak , i see more and more new civic + corolla on the road. All of them were auto. its rare to see NEW cars in manual

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

The random world of four wheel pakistan.

  • Cars are an investment: A 450,000PKR Suzuki Alto will only depreciate 50,000PKR in 5 years.
  • Depreciation kick in the pants: A used manual demands more resale than an automatic. But a new automatic costs more than a manual.
  • **Drivers drive - not you: **If you're sitting in the back sipping chai, why would you trust your driver with a manual Accord? *]How fun can it be to rev up and down a crater filled road? An automatic will burn rubber just fine on the loose gravel you call road. WTH

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

ahahahahahahha.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but manual transmission cars are more efficient & consume less gas than automatic transmission cars.

& yeh, manual is more fun. I have a shift-tronic 3.5l altima, and a manual 3.5l TL, but I still prefer the manual.

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

The reason is mainly because of the price factor, constituted with the fact that not everyone was able to understand & repair an automatic car.

First, lets understand this that an automatic car needs gear oil & filter changed a few thousand kms, back with those old accords & corollas. People who did buy them were rich & didn't understand this concept in the first place, coz no one told them. People also did have automatics. Mercedes & BMW were auto by default, manual was an option. People who did buy german cars in Pak, were rich, still are, & knew what they are dealing with. People(juma juma aath din huay ameer huay), bought wannabe Mercs & BMW's with auto, without thinking or even asking of the servicing that an auto gear requires.

Second, automatic car gears had a higher change ratio, back in the 80s, 90s. Only specific sports cars were having gears, that were as good as stick shift. Merc & BMWs, have always had excellent gears, the current models...have absolutely no difference, if u buy an auto or stick shift. People wanted manuals, coz they were kings when it came to changing gears...sub wahan schumacher ki aulad hain.

The best gears, that I've experienced, are on the Mercs, Porsches, BMWs, Infiniti, Lexus, Ferrari, & most recently a friend's Bentley. They are absolutely fabulous, whether you are cruising, or racing...they just don't give u that "gear change" feeling, they just fly in the air.

All current sports cars have tip tronic, & the best of all is the F1 gear on the F430, & higher end models. F1 gear has a change ratio of ONLY 90ms, which is hardly any difference if u are an average car buff. But in an actual race, it makes all the difference at the cross line

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?


Autos consume less gas but not by much.

Re: Why don't most cars in Pakistan have auto transmission?

More and more people in Pakistan are now buying automatic cars, but there are two main factors which people in Pakistan keep in mind when taking the decesion.

1 - Cost of repair in case Automatic transmission failure.

2 - Their way of driving ( as already mentioned by many people).

You'd also see lot of imported japenese cars( almost new / reconditioned) on roads in Pakistan and majority of them are also automatic. So automatic cars are becoming popular but gradually ( especially in women ). By the way there are LOT of ards below 1000c.c category and correct me if i am wrong, automatic transmission isnt very useful for small cars.. ?

But for me Manual works, because i "drive" :)