And the reason cited is the controversial devaluation of rupee amid further deprecation after the government agreed to leave the pricing of dollar up to the market.
People are not ready to digest around 10 per cent increase in one go, saying why the consumer should pay for the profits of the three big car companies.
They are questioning the role of regulators and complete silence on the part of government.
Some of them are even suggesting allowing import of smaller cars at 10 per cent duty, especially those with better fuel efficiency, which might be 30 per cent to 50 per cent cheaper.
They said the car companies in Pakistan had been earning billions of rupees in profit each year and they must take the hit in the current scenario, as the consumers should not be always at the receiving end.
Earlier, Honda in a statement said, “Due to recent rupee devaluation and owing to the negative exchange rate impact, HACPL is compelled to increase the prices of Honda cars with effect from June 24, 2019.”
An expert said when the company increased prices last time, the dollar was worth Rs142 and it had surged to Rs157, resulting in a huge gap.
“All raw material of the sector comes from abroad, therefore, the parts produced locally also face price increase due to the rupee depreciation against the dollar,” said JS Research analyst Ahmed Lakhani told The Express Tribune.
The company increased prices of Civic Turbo RS and 1.8L VTI CVT models by Rs400,000 each to Rs4.2 million and Rs3.6 million respectively.
Similarly, it raised the price of 1.8L VT SR CVT model by Rs425,000 to Rs3.82 million.
On the other hand, the prices of Honda City 1.3L MT and 1.3L AT were increased by Rs260,000 each to Rs2.18 million and Rs2.32 million respectively.
Honda 1.5L AT model became costlier by 260,000 as its price rose from Rs2.12 million to Rs2.38 million.
The price of 1.5L Aspire MT model grew from Rs2.13 million to Rs2.39 million and 1.5L Aspire AT model rose from Rs2.27 million to Rs2.55 million.
On a similar note, the price of BR-V MT increased by Rs305,000 to Rs2.59 million and BR-V CVT by Rs350,000 to Rs2.78 million.
“The company hiked prices massively in one go so that it could not damage its image by increasing prices again and again,” said Lakhani.
It would not be easy for customers of the company to absorb the shock but this would fade out compared to repeated price hikes which were more irksome, he said.