The internationally-renowned furniture brand, IKEA, is coming to Pakistan in the next few months. The foreign brand will introduce its ready-to-assemble and cost-effective furniture in Pakistani markets.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Germany, Dr. Muhammad Faisal, shared the news with Pakistani media. Dr. Faisal said that he recently met with Dieter Mettke, an IKEA official expected to lead the multinational conglomerate’s operation in Pakistan.
IKEA is a multi-national conglomerate that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances, and home accessories. The company was founded in Sweden in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad. The company became the biggest furniture retailer in 2008. The company entered Asia in the 2000s and opened its first store in India in 2018. The brand targets a low-priced mass-market.
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Earlier this month, Volkswagen (VW) had announced that it will start production of vehicles in Pakistan by 2022. Volkswagen’s entry into the Pakistani automobile market will give Pakistani consumers much-needed diversity.
Furniture conglomerate IKEA en route to #Pakistan to start its operations in the country, Pakistani ambassador to Germany, Dr Mohammad Faisal, said on Tuesday. https://t.co/WWxstW3Uza
— Arab News Pakistan (@arabnewspk) December 29, 2020
Volkswagen is the biggest car producer in the world. It is also one of the oldest and well-known car manufacturers in the world. The German carmaker has several renowned brands under its wing including Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, and Bugatti.
The company will initially be producing pickup Amarok, which will compete with the existing pickup Truck and Transporter van market initially. It will produce pickup Amarok and a Transporter van similar to Toyota’s Hilux Revo and Suzuki’s APV respectively.
According to news reports, however, passenger cars may also still be on the table.
Other competitors of the VW’s introductory vehicles will likely be the Isuzu D-Max, as well as Kia Grand Carnival and Hyundai Grand Starex.
The automaker will be working under the greenfield status, as per the Automotive Development Policy (ADP) 2016-21.
Initially, the assembly plant will work with a capacity of around 28,000 vehicles annually. The setting up of the plant however has suffered a delay of 8 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The car manufacturer will partner with Premier Motors in its entry into the Pakistani car market.