Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) has announced the discontinuation of its second-generation Swift model in Pakistan, nearly 12 years after its introduction, while bookings for the Cultus have also been temporarily halted.
The company made an announcement last year in August that the second-generation hatchback will be discontinued after August 2021. Even though PSMC has not given an official notice on the discontinuation but several authorized dealerships have confirmed that PSMC has officially discontinued the current model.
In addition to this, PSMC has also stopped taking bookings for Cultus and the reports suggest that new orders have not been entertained for at least a few weeks. Several Suzuki stores in various cities have stated that new bookings have been halted until further notice.
The production stop is also being observed in India, where Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest automaker, has stated that the global chip shortage will affect output at its operations in the states of Haryana and Gujarat in September. It was informed in a regulatory filing that the total production volume could be around 40% across both locations.
During the pandemic, semiconductor supply chain problems impacted Pakistan, driving higher demand for chips used in electronics such as computers as people worked from home and reducing output at numerous automakers.
There is also news that Suzuki Motors has also decided to discontinue Bolan and Ravi. There are rumors that the Bolan might get replaced with a minivan.
Discontinuation of Swift
Meanwhile, one of the key reasons for the current Swift’s demise could be its dwindling popularity. In recent years, the business has made no significant alterations or upgrades to its second-generation hatchback, which has resulted in declining sales.
According to Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA):
- Sales have come down from 5,509 units in 2018-19 to 2,316 in 2020-21.
- Sales of 2019-20 (1,828) were lowered due to the pandemic and hence, cannot be taken as a benchmark.
Pak Suzuki only had profit in the first half of this year after losing money for the previous eight quarters.
