Sazgar reveals SUVs Jolion and Haval H6 prices in Pakistan

Sazgar, the largest rikshaw-maker in Pakistan, has revealed the prices of SUVs that it intends to launch in Pakistan. The company has started taking bookings of Haval H6 and Jolion.

The 2,000cc Haval H6 has been priced at Rs6.3 million and 1,500cc Turbo Jolion at Rs5.52 million. The two five-seater crossover SUVs will compete with Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson, Proton X70, DFSK Glory 580, and MG-HS.  

A company source told SAMAA Money that it would take the company three to four months to deliver the SUVs.

Sazgar earlier announced its plans to enter the Pakistani car market with another Chinese carmaker BAIC. It said it would launch the D20 car that has both hatchback and sedan versions. It also plans to launch X25 crossover and BJ40-Plus off-roader SUV.

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Haval is one of the top-selling companies in the SUV segment in China and leads ahead of Hyundai and MG Motors, according to the company website. It is a subsidiary of Great Wall Motors and focuses on SUVs and pickups.     

Listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, Sazgar prides itself with exporting three-wheelers to 20 countries, including Japan. The company has a capacity to produce 24,000 units annually.

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Sazgar will be assembling cars in Pakistan under its greenfield status, which it received under the government’s Auto Development Policy 2016-21.

Initially, the industry was expecting that companies with the greenfield status must launch their cars by the end of the fiscal year 2021 to avail incentives given in the policy.

However, sources privy to the matter disclosed that companies with greenfield status can get approval from the government authorities to bring new cars even after FY2021 ends in June. But tax incentives of five years under the policy couldn’t be availed after June 2026. This means car models brought after June 2021 will not get tax incentives for a complete five-year tenure.

The government has launched the policy to attract foreign investment and help increase competition in the auto sector, which has long been dominated by Japanese carmakers Suzuki, Toyota and Honda.

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Apart from Sazgar, nearly a dozen companies have received the greenfield status, including United Motors, KIA, Regal Motors, Changan, MG Motors, Proton, Volkswagen and Hyundai.

“There was little acceptability for new brands among the Pakistani people in the past,” said Taha Madani, a research analyst at BMA Capital. “But that attitude is now changing as new companies are launching cars with way more features as compared to cars of established players in the country in similar price brackets.

“I think new car companies such as Sazgar-Haval, who are coming in the high-end segment will mostly hurt Honda sales,” he said. “Toyota will not be affected because of its comparatively low-priced parts and resale value while Suzuki caters to the hatchback segment, which new companies have largely been ignoring.”