The government in Pakistan has accepted one of the major demands of car assemblers pertaining to putting a mechanism in place for conducting a survey to ascertain the actual demand for used cars, according to media reports on the Internet.

The car assemblers have been pressing the government to impose a complete ban on the import of used cars in the new auto policy.

This demand has partially been accepted as the government has agreed to set a mechanism in place for conducting the survey, said an official.

The official, however, declined to give any detail what type of mechanism would be formulated for conducting the survey.

He also refused to tell anything whether this mechanism would have a representation from one of the powerful cartels of car assemblers.

Currently there is no detail with the government about the actual demand for used cars being imported in the wake of facilities by the government in the last two fiscal years.

Some consumers would object to such a study or survey, as so far the car assemblers could not bridge the gap between supply and demand for cars, especially small cars, which are in high demand in Pakistan.

There are thousands of car buyers who are facing extreme difficulties in getting their cars.
The car delivery period for small vehicles is increasing in Pakistan.

A buyer said he booked his car in November 2006 and the month for tentative delivery given on the booking order is April. There could be more delay in the delivery of his car.

‘This is an injustice as I have deposited the required amount in the account of the company concerned from which I intend to buy the car’.

“The company concerned is free to earn interest against the deposited money and I have to wait for four to six months,” he said.

Mitsubishi plans to build a joint automaker plant with peugeot Citroen in Russia. The new plant will make middle class cars of Lancer type in 2010, according to unconfirmed reports on the Internet.

Mitsubishi had talks with Russia in late 2006 and made a principal decision to rule out assembly plant construction.

Since high taxes are imposed on imported components, it proved to be more profitable to build its own enterprise, supposedly in Saint-Petersburg outskirts.

The new plant will be making about 200,000 cars annually. About $450 million is required for the plant construction.

Mitsubishi and peugeot Citroen Group plan to build the joint enterprise with this goal.

In case the plan succeeds, Mitsubishi will become the third Japanese automaker following Toyota and Nissan to launch production in Russia, RIA informed.

Six used car dealers in North Island have been fined a total of more than $9,000 for not displaying Supplier Information Notice cards with used cars.

They are Auto Kingdom and J’s Cars in Hamilton, Paragon Motors and Urban Wholesale in Auckland, Car Court fairy Springs in Rotorua, and Trademark Autos in Te Awamutu.

The dealers have to pay $300 for each car that did not carry a SIN card, which shows information like the age, price and odometer reading of the car.

The Commerce Commission requires that dealers must display the cards since December 2003. It says buyers have a right to accurate information about what they are buying.

A car with a power output equal to a household hair dryer has broken the world record for the fastest solar- powered perth - Sydney trip.

The futuristic-looking vehicle, using just 1.8 Kilowatts of power, rolled into Sydney having traveled from coast in five days.

The University of NSW’s Solar Racing Team almost halved the previous record set in 1994.

Cruising between 70 and 90km/h, the Jaycar Sunswift III used nothing but solar power on the 4000 km journey.

The Gulf car market is dominated by Japanese manufacturers, who supply about 70% of the total cars imported into the region, according to industry figures.

The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council has an estimated six million vehicles, with 1.4 million in the UAE.

The UAE car market is growing at an average annual rate of 10 per cent, organizers of Dubai’s leading auto sports exhibition said.

The UAE is also the world’s second-largest per capita market for four-wheel drive vehicles after Australia.

High per capita incomes, booming economies and a growing population are fuelling the growth of the Gulf automotive sector, said International Expo Consults, who are organizing the March 12-14 Automobile Aftermarket Middle East.

“The GCC automobile industry relies on imports with Japan accounting for 65-70 percent of sales, Europe 15-20 percent, the US contributing 6.5 per cent and the rest coming from other countries,” the company said in a statement.