Why are Chinese car makers setting up shop in Pakistan?
- The sell-out success of the Chang’an Alsvin sedan is the latest Pakistani-Chinese joint venture to have raised eyebrows in the automotive world
- Chinese car firms seeking new avenues for growth, while hampered in India, see Pakistan as an entry point to the right-hand-drive markets of South Asia
The stock-clearing sale of 15,000 Chang’an Alsvin passenger vehicles is the latest in a series of headlines about joint ventures between privately held Pakistani conglomerates and Chinese state-owned automotive enterprises.
The Alsvin is assembled at a US$136 million plant near the port city of Karachi owned by Master Chang’an Motors (MCM), established in 2017 as a 70:30 joint venture between the local Master Group and leading Chinese carmaker Chang’an Automobile. In addition to the 30,000 units a year of the Alsvin, it began producing two pick-ups and a multi-purpose vehicle in 2018.
Shanghai-based SAIC Motor, owner of the British car brand MG, this month broke ground at the site of a US$100 million plant near Karachi which is expected to begin production of three small-engined sports utility vehicles, or SUVs, next year.
KA Hanteng Motor, a joint venture with China’s Hanteng Automobile, is building a US$50 million plant in Pakistan and is expected to start making 15,000 SUVs and passenger cars this year.
Al-Hajj FAW, a Karachi-based joint venture formed in 2012, ramped up production of hatchbacks last year to 20,000 vehicles.