News Desk |
Popular auto dealership and publication, PakWheels.com conducted a survey to know which car is the most fuel-efficient in Pakistan and is easily maintainable. Through the findings of the survey, Wagon R was declared by the people of Pakistan as the most fuel-efficient car among the locally produced vehicles in Pakistan.
In the imported cars category, people voted for Toyota Aqua as the most fuel-efficient car in the country. In the survey, 19,155 participants responded from all over Pakistan. From Punjab, Sindh, Islamabad, KPK, Balochistan, and Gilgit Baltistan the respondents were 54%, 27%, 12%,6%, 1%, and 0.10% respectively.
Earlier this year, Pak Suzuki had restrained its dealerships to take further bookings of its famous car, Suzuki Wagon R. The automaker had issued a notice to its dealerships telling them to halt the bookings of Wagon R starting from the 1st of February, 2018, GVS earlier reported. This was not a permanent decision.
It remains to be seen as to what these companies have to offer; by the looks of their already successful global variants, fuel efficiency will be a competitive trait, which is for now, a luxury.
Pak Suzuki had only temporarily suspended the bookings. Furthermore, the bookings for the clientele who have already ordered cars will be followed through and their cars will be delivered to them as requested. But until further notice, customers will not be able to book the Suzuki Wagon R. Suzuki had not offered any reasons; auto commentators online had two explanations as to why Suzuki Pakistan decided to halt Wagon R bookings.
The first was simply the number of orders the company has already taken. With the introduction of online cab hailing services Careem and Uber, the Wagon R was said to have been the favorite for consumers and vendors. So it is probable that Suzuki wished to clear a heavy backlog. The second explanation is linked to Pak Suzuki trying to divert potential customers from Wagon R to its other hatchback, the Suzuki Cultus, which was released into the market last year in three makes.
Read more: Indus Motor Company reported to recall Toyota Corolla vehicles yet again
But owing to the significant price difference between both cars, this strategy to increase the sales of the Cultus might not actually work. Also, in a widely criticized move, Pak Suzuki Motor Company had increased its vehicle prices by around Rs30,000 from June 1st in a third such hike since the beginning of the year due to the consistent depreciation of the rupee that makes imports of auto parts expensive. In a notification, the company announced revised rates of its various vehicle variants. The new price of Wagon-R’s VXL variant is now Rs1.194 million, up Rs30,000 from Rs1.164 million.
While the popular online auto dealership and publication Pakwheels’ survey says that the Wagon-R variant is the most fuel-efficient car in Pakistan, the number of new entrants gearing up to take the Pakistani roads by storm has risen to eight: KIA, Renault, Hyundai, Nissan, Volkswagen, United, LIFAN and Beijing Automobile Works (BAW). It remains to be seen as to what these companies have to offer; by the looks of their already successful global variants, fuel efficiency will be a competitive trait, which is for now, a luxury.