Pakistan's top brand sectors on fame and growth.

Byline: AHSAN NISAR

Aviation industry

Pakistan has an oligopolistic airline industry and one of important Pakistan's top brand sectors, where Serene Air, Air Blue and Air Sial, as privately-owned airlines, compete against each other and the national carrier PIA (Pakistan International Airlines). Last year, another airline company entered the domestic market Fly Jinnah. There is plenty of room to grow when it comes to the total market share of low-cost carriers in Pakistan. Their share is much smaller than some of Pakistan's neighboring countries like India.

Pakistani flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines has welcomed the third Airbus A320 to its fleet last year. PIA has plans to add another five-wide-body aircraft to its fleet. The airline hopes to conclude a dry leasing agreement for five planes with a capacity of between 250 and 320 passengers. Pakistan needs joint ventures in the aviation sector, as these have become increasingly common and proven successful worldwide. The JVs can contribute significantly towards improving the quality of human capital, knowledge transfer, and development of local talent, bringing international expertise, experience and training standards into the local market. Recently, Qatar 16 Investment Authority has also expressed keen interest in the aviation sector due to the country's investment climate. Moreover, the recent joint venture between Air Arabia and the conglomerate Lakson Group is paving the way for a better and more sustainable future for the country's aviation industry.

Auto industry

The local automobile sector comprises of total 12 assembling/importing brands which include Honda, Suzuki, Toyota Indus and Hyundai. The passenger cars market is largely structured with three major players i.e., Toyota Indus, Honda and Pak Suzuki, controlling the market historically. In the Jeeps and Pickups segment, the market is dominated by Toyota along with Ghandhara, Hyundai, Suzuki Ravi and Honda (BRV). The top-selling car brand last year was the 600cc Alto followed by Toyota Corolla and Yaris. Honda City and Civic are the third most popular choice. The Auto Policy 2016-21 offered tax incentives to investors seeking to set up their automobile manufacturing plants in Pakistan. This has resulted in several new Chinese and Korean investors entering the market in 2021 such as KIA Motors, DSKF Motor Co Ltd, Hyundai Motors, Changsha Foton Vehicle Technology Co. Ltd., and Changan International Corporation Ltd.

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