Daily Times

The Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited on Monday announced to resume plant operations in the coming weeks amid relief in trade finance.

The announcement came after months-long closure as certain import restrictions and shortage of US dollars forced the company to halt production of multiple variants.

The automaker shared the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

“With the consistent efforts of the company and slight improvement in accessibility of trade finance facilities for the supply chain, the company is now preparing to resume its production in the weeks ahead, with the hope to increase the same gradually,” read the notice.

Last month, Honda Atlas announced the extension of its plant shutdown till May 15, 2023.

“Considering the current economic situation of Pakistan whereby the government resorted to stringent measures including restricting opening of LCs for import of CKD kits, raw materials and halting foreign payments, the company’s supply chain has also been severely disrupted by such measures.

“As a result, the company is not in a position to continue with its production and ultimately has continued to shut down its plant from May 1, 2023 to May 15, 2023,” said the company back then.

The firm has been observing a plant shutdown since March 9, 2023. Data released by the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA), sales of cars, light commercial vehicles, jeeps and vans declined by over 80 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 4,463 units in April amid growing economic and political uncertainties.

Other automakers in the country also announced complete or partial shutdowns in the past few months, citing import restrictions, reduced demand in the market and LCs problems.