Pakistan should prioritize the development of indigenous car brands to strengthen its automotive industry and economy.

This was emphasized by Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor on Friday. He highlighted the significant financial outflow on foreign car imports and stressed the need for a shift towards local car production.

According to Pasban Democratic Party’s statement, Shakoor pointed out the country’s heavy reliance on costly Japanese car brands that show limited interest in technology transfer. He criticized the current trend where Pakistani companies merely assemble foreign cars rather than producing vehicles domestically. Shakoor urged a fundamental change to establish native car brands instead of depending on assembly plants for foreign vehicles.

He noted that despite Pakistan’s status as the world’s fifth most populous country and home to the second-largest Muslim population, it lacks indigenous car brands. Shakoor recalled the previous attempt with the Adam Revo, a locally designed and assembled car, which ceased production for undisclosed reasons.

Drawing comparisons with developing African nations that have successfully launched indigenous cars, Shakoor advocated learning from their experience to reduce import bills and offer affordable transportation options to citizens. He stated that the substantial demand for cars in Pakistan is met through importing hundreds of thousands of used vehicles, which could be mitigated by fostering local car production.

In his appeal, Shakoor urged Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir, and the SIFC to focus on nurturing the domestic car manufacturing sector. He called for providing ample support and facilities to industries and entrepreneurs keen on developing local vehicle brands.

Shakoor concluded by emphasizing the importance of industrial and economic development for national respect and security in a rapidly evolving global landscape.