ISLAMABAD: A survey conducted by the http://www.pakwheels.com/ – an automobile portal – has revealed that 75% of cars are not insured in Pakistan, which is mandatory under the Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1965.
It says that only 25% of the cars – mainly bank financed – are insured. While the violation of insurance specific law can be attributed to lack of knowledge about the ordinance, the survey says significant numbers of drivers lack driving licences.
According to the survey, around 24% of the survey respondents drive cars without licences with 41% of them below the age of 21 years.
The survey revealed new insights into the automotive sector of Pakistan including people’s buying and selling habits, patterns and preferences. Due to the large sample size – 1100o+ respondents – the survey truly reflects the choices and preferences of Pakistanis from all age brackets, industry sectors and income levels.
The survey has also thrown light on the car buying habits of Pakistanis with 60% of the respondents buying used cars and 40% buying new cars. Though auto financing has seen a rapid growth in the last two years, yet according to the survey, only 22% of the new car owners and 5% of the used car owners purchase vehicles through auto financing or a loan. These numbers give a clear indication that banks will witness significant growth in auto financing in the coming days.
While safety, comfort and other features are top of the list when it comes to consumer preferences when buying a car in developed markets such as US and Europe, the survey reveals that Pakistani customers still consider fuel efficiency and resale value far more important than safety and other features. This could be one of the reasons that certain mandatory safety features like airbags are missing from majority of the locally assembled vehicles.
Although YouTube, Facebook and other online digital mediums have significantly altered viewing and listening habits of the people, they have yet to make significant inroad into cars, as the survey reveals that a massive 74% of consumers are still listening to radio while driving.
It validated that Toyota Corolla was the most preferred car of Pakistanis followed by Honda City, Honda Civic, Suzuki Mehran and Suzuki Cultus, respectively. “As expected, the market is still dominated by Big 3 – Suzuki, Toyota and Honda. The anticipated entry of other auto manufacturers in Pakistan including Nissan, Datsun, Renault and Volkswagen in the near future can give a really tough time to the Big 3 in Pakistan, it added.
