Since the inception of the automobile industry in Pakistan a few cars have amassed much popularity such as Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, etc., whereas, on the contrary, some cars didn’t perform well in the country or failed to retain their position such as Suzuki Liana. In this particular write-up, we will be talking about a few of those cars that didn’t retain their position in the local market or performed poorly.
1. Chevrolet Joy
First on the list is Chevrolet Joy— a hatchback that was introduced to rival Cultus, Santro, Mehran, and other hatchback cars. Launched in late 2005, the car was equipped with a 1.0L engine and had a price tag of around PKR 0.6 million. Same as other hatchbacks or economy sector cars, the design was not that great or appealing. However, it was an addition to the auto industry.
Note that Nexus Autos was the official assembler of Chevrolet vehicles in the country.
- The reasons the car failed to perform and couldn’t retain its place was due to poor sales and fierce competition from Cultus and Santro. The car always remained behind the race. The products which the company brought were also obsolete and were not offering anything new.
- Moreover, it was also argued that the policy of the government was also not favorable resulting in the halting of operations of not only Nexus Autos, but many other automakers as well such as Nissan and Adam motors.
2. Suzuki Liana
At the time when Liana was launched, people were expecting great things from it, however, it never made a connection with the car lovers and buyers. The company brought the facelift of Suzuki Liana to the Pakistani market in 2009 and renamed it Suzuki Liana Vurv. The car got discontinued in 2014.
Note that at the time the car was introduced it had all the bells and whistles in it which even Corolla, City, and Civic didn’t have. The LXi and Eminent variants of Suzuki Liana had ABS which was not shipped in either Honda City and XLi/GLi at that time. Moreover, it housed an immobilizer that was not present in the Altis and Civic of its time. The vehicle was a good addition to the local auto industry, however, it never satiated the thirst of car buyers. A few of the reasons that the car didn’t retain its position in the market are as follow:
- High-maintenance cost and expensive spare parts compared to other Suzuki vehicles. People were used to buying cheap Suzuki car parts and this car annoyed them
- The most important reason is that the local mechanics didn’t understand the mechanics of the car and instead of getting the car repaired they made it worse. People in Pakistan most of the time go to local mechanics instead of authorized dealerships, especially in rural areas
- It was vulnerable to the notorious Suzuki car’s squeaks
3. Chery QQ
Chery QQ was another vehicle introduced in Pakistan. However, since its inception in the local auto industry, many didn’t like it much as it was a Chinese replica of Chevrolet Joy. On the contrary, many praised it and called it better than Suzuki Mehran. Some of the reasons it lacked to attract the buyers such as:
- Knocking sound from the engine
- Gear shift problem. As the year passes by shifting gears became problematic
- Chinese Stigma
- Parts pricer than Mehran
The car was relaunched in the market at the beginning of this year rebadged as United Alpha. Let’s wait and see how it performs this time around.
4. Nissan Sunny
Nissan Sunny was once a hot favorite car for buyers back in the days. The car came with both manual and auto transmissions. The Nissan EX saloon version came with many features such as power windows, etc. Despite all praise and worthiness of the vehicle, it couldn’t retain its position in the market which is surprising to many to date. There are many reasons which could be attributed to the discontinuation of Nissan Sunny in Pakistan such as low sales or fierce competition from Honda or Toyota. However, the frequently discussed cons of Nissan Sunny are as follow:
- Not good resale value
- Weak suspension
- Low ground clearance compared to Corolla and City of that time
All the points mentioned above about cars are users’ personal experience with the vehicles.
These are not the only cars that didn’t retain their place in the market. There are many vehicles as well such as Kia Spectra, Fiat Uno, Kia Classic, Chevrolet Optra, Mitsubishi Lancer, Mitsubishi Galant, etc. We will cover all of these in upcoming blogs. So, stay tuned and keep checking the OLX blog section.
Drop your suggestions in the comment box, and do mention cars that you feel didn’t retain their position in the market and what could be the reasons for these cars not retaining their place in the market.
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why nissan sunny?