The face of the automobile industry in Pakistan has changed a lot in the last few years. However, one thing remained consistent throughout and it was none other than Suzuki Mehran.
Come Hell or High Water, Mehran Remained Mehran
The world has revolutionized in terms of innovation and state of the art technology in the auto sector – electric vehicles (EVs) are the new growing trend across the globe. Despite this, Pak Suzuki has somehow managed to keep selling its most popular vehicle in the country till now. A compact hatchback that still offers what it offered back in the 1990s when it was first launched, hasn’t changed at all.
This globally retired 2nd generation of Suzuki Mehran has lived for 30 years in Pakistan as it made its debut in the local market back in 1989. Besides all the facts, it remained as the top-selling car in Pakistan for 3 decades. There are multiple reasons behind the success of Mehran. Lack of competition was the main reason why Mehran ruled the roost for all these years. Apart from a few cosmetic changes the car received during all these years, there is certainly not much to talk about at all. Perhaps its price could be something one can argue which kept climbing the ladder multiple times during each year of its production. Right towards the end of its life span, it costs around Rs.860, 000 (ex-factory price) which is undoubtedly a huge question mark in terms of value for money.
The people in Pakistan, however, had to stick to this particular model of Pak Suzuki as the only option in the local automobile industry. Apart from Suzuki, the only other option for the potential buyers was to buy a car from Honda or Toyota but unfortunately, both of these auto manufacturers, deal in cars of 1300 cc or above. Therefore, Pak Suzuki had no competition in the market and therefore had the luxury to keep producing the choice of its own with a self-defined price tag.
Over the past few years, the automobile industry of Pakistan has welcomed several new entrants on the back of the government’s Automobile Development Policy (ADP) 2016-21 which included incentives for them. Moreover, the imported hatchbacks in the country are growing by the day and people tend to prefer them on the basis of their build quality, outlook and most importantly features they offer. On the other hand, the entry of United Bravo also triggered an alarm for Pak Suzuki and forced a change. Prince is also going to launch its Prince Pearl during some part of this year which would further strengthen the completion.
Pak Suzuki had already discontinued its VX variant of Mehran at the end of the last year and announced that the company will soon halt the production of VXR model too. The time has come as the manufacturing plant of Pak Suzuki is in the process of producing the last unit of its legendary 30-year-old Mehran. The picture below shows the last unit of Suzuki Mehran SB-308 as the company bids farewell to it.
However, a majority of people have welcomed the decision of Pak Suzuki to end the production of its oldest model as they are of the view that it would open new doors for the potential buyers with vast options to choose from.
Suzuki Mehran will be replaced by the 8th generation model of Alto this year, which will be the first 660 cc hatchback in the local industry of Pakistan. It would also be the direct competitor of United Bravo and Prince Pearl in the future. It’s a rather good addition to the Suzuki family which is expected to be launched at somewhere between Rs.0.9-1 million.
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