Pakistan - French car maker Renault wants to conquer the Pakistan market, growing rapidly, and will establish an assembly plant in the country by 2018, said Thursday the Pakistani government.
The automobile market in Pakistan has been dominated for decades by Japanese manufacturers like Suzuki, Toyota and Honda, which have been accused of agreeing to fix prices of local versions, lower quality of their models.
"Renault has decided to invest in Pakistan. They will start assembling cars in Pakistan by 2018," said a statement from the Pakistan Board of Investment.
The Chairman of BOI, Miftah Ismail, conducted negotiations with Volkswagen, Peugeot, Renault, Fiat and Nissan, the statement said. In September, he had taken the Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in a trip to France, during which he persuaded Renault to invest in Pakistan.
"The Renault group confirmed that it has entered into exclusive negotiations with Ghandhara groups and Al Futtaim to develop the presence of the Renault brand in Pakistan, including an assembly plant on the site of Ghandara in Karachi", for his said Thursday in Paris by the French group, without specifying a date.
Since coming to power in 2013, the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wanted the arrival of new players in the automotive Pakistan to cope with the growing demand.
In this country of 200 million inhabitants, car buyers are waiting up to four months to buy a new vehicle, and after paying in advance, as demand exceeds supply, amid economic growth the most strong since 2008.
The Pakistani government announced in March that foreign manufacturers wishing to set up in the domestic market will import machinery for their factories without paying any fee, in the hope of stimulating competition and moderate the sales price paid by motorists Pakistan .
Last year, a delegation from Volkswagen visited the country, but the German giant has so far not announced plans to set up a factory in Pakistan.
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