The growth accelerator

KARACHI: Toyota will invest over $100 million for the local production of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in Pakistan. The investment would go towards localisation of components, plant expansion and production preparation for the first hybrid electric vehicle to be manufactured at the Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC) plant located at Port Qasim, Karachi, said Ali Asghar Jamali, chief executive officer of Indus Motor Company.

IMC has made large scale investments in enhancing its own capacity and in meeting customer requirements for the new products.

Corolla is, today, the largest selling automotive brand model in Pakistan and the country is the highest Corolla-selling nation in the Asia-Pacific region and also has the distinction of being No 1 in Toyota’s Asian market, he added.

The Indus Motor Company has contributed massively towards the establishment of the local automobile industry in Pakistan, by creating its complete value chain with over 60 part makers, making over Rs200 million worth of parts every day, 50 independently-owned dealerships, providing aftersales service to the customers and employing over 60,000 people directly and indirectly, working across Pakistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has praised the IMC for its contribution in the economy and auto industry.

“The investment announcement represents IMC’s commitment towards our community, as we contribute tangibly towards making Pakistan less vulnerable to climate change. Toyota has multiple electrification technologies, and among those, we believe strong hybrids are a practical and sustainable solution for achieving mass electrification,” Jamali said.

“We are thrilled to bring the most efficient 4th Generation hybrid electric vehicle to our customers, which will help reduce carbon footprint of our vehicles, in line with the vision of the prime minister,” he added.

Jamali has been associated with the company since October 2000 and has served in key roles in various departments, owing to which he has acquired rich experience in end-to-end management of the company operations.

Jamali is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and has attended the Advance Management Programme at Harvard University and the Accelerated Management Programme at Wharton School of Business in the US.

Here are some of the excerpts of a chit-chat with him.

Tells us about your company?

Indus Motor Company (IMC) is a joint venture between the companies of House of Habib of Pakistan, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC) of Japan. Incorporated in 1989, the company manufactures and markets Toyota brand vehicles in Pakistan. These include several variants of the flagship ‘Corolla’ and the newly-launched ‘Yaris’ in the passenger car segment, ‘Hilux’ in the light commercial vehicle segment and ‘Fortuner’ in the Sports Utility Vehicle segment.

Where is the company’s manufacturing facility located?

IMC’s manufacturing facility and offices are located at a 107 acres site at Port Qasim, Karachi. The product is delivered to the end customers nationwide through a strong network of 50 independent 3S dealerships spread across the country.

What is the company’s performance in terms of sales?

Since inception, IMC has sold over 903,800 CBU/CKD vehicles. It has also demonstrated impressive growth in terms of volumetric increase. From a modest beginning of 20 vehicles/day production in 1993, the daily production capacity of the company has now increased to 268 (with overtime) units/day. This has been made possible through the development of human talent embracing the “Toyota Way” of quality and lean manufacturing.

What are the expansion and investment plans?

Toyota will invest over $100 million for the local production of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in Pakistan. The investment would go towards localisation of components, plant expansion and production preparation for the first hybrid electric vehicle to be manufactured at the Indus Motor Company (IMC) plant located at Port Qasim, Karachi.

The company has made large scale investments in enhancing its own capacity and in meeting customer requirements for the new products. Corolla is, today, the largest selling automotive brand model in Pakistan.

What is the number of workforce of the company?

The company has a workforce of 2,855 persons. It invests heavily in training the team members and management employees and creating a culture of high performing and empowered teams who work seamlessly across the various processes in search of quality and continuous improvement. IMC employees are encouraged to pursue high standards of business ethics and safety according to the core values of the company; they communicate candidly and extend respect to the customers. The employees rate IMC high on work environment and level of job satisfaction as per the biannual TMC morale survey.

 What is the company’s role in Pakistan’s auto industry?

IMC has played a major role in the development of the entire value chain of the local auto industry. It is also proud to have contributed in poverty alleviation at the grassroots level by nurturing localisation. This, in turn, has directly created thousands of job opportunities and transferred technology to 52 vendors supplying parts. The company is also a major taxpayer and a significant contributor to the national exchequer.

 Do you think hybrid vehicles will help achieve environmental goal?

Hybrids will help achieve all the macroeconomic and environment goals of the government. The infrastructure is ready for hybrid vehicles in the country and it will help generate jobs through localisation. Hybrid vehicles will save up to 50 per cent fuel, directly impacting the carbon footprint and carbon emissions. The company has immense pride to be the leader in bringing technological advancement in Pakistan along with the development of the local engineering base.

Your take on increase in the prices of vehicles?

It is difficult to hold prices, as the exchange rate, freight charges and raw materials cost have increased manifold. These factors really affect the prices of cars and they are beyond the control of the manufacturers.