Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC) is planning to launch two new cars in the Pakistani market by the end of the current calendar year 2021.
National media reports suggest that the corporation is going to introduce KIA Stonic and Peugeot 2008 in Pakistan.
Lucky Motor has been a local partner for the South Korean car manufacturer KIA in Pakistan, having successfully introduced much-welcomed vehicles like KIA Sportage, KIA Picanto, and has brought new options to the market like Sorento, and Carnival.
On the other hand, the company had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Stellantis Group, which owns many car companies like Peugeot. Introducing the French compact crossover SUV to go against LMC’s own popular KIA Sportage is a testament to the diversifying portfolio of the company.
It is worth mentioning that KIA Stonic is a subcompact crossover SUV like Honda HR-V.
Lucky Motor has reportedly planned to use its pre-existing production plant and resources to manufacture niche products, like the upcoming Peugeot vehicle, in small volumes.
LMC has evidently decided to launch Peugeot in Pakistan
Reports state that LMC plans to use its pre-existing production plant & resources to manufacture niche products that are Peugeot vehicles in small volumes that will be bolstered by high volume production & sales of Kia cars
— Developing Pakistan (@developingpak) August 9, 2021
Under the new Automotive Industry Development and Export Plan (AIDEP) 2021-26, which is expected soon to be passed by the assembly, the government has incentivized the auto industry of Pakistan to manufacture cheaper vehicles for the greater population of Pakistan.
However, these reports suggest that the upcoming big name in Pakistan’s auto industry, LMC, is taking another route because these SUVs would again not be targeting the middle and lower classes of the country.
LMC Cerato
As per recent reports by various automotive journalists in Pakistan, Kia-Lucky Motor is all set to launch Cerato in Pakistan by the end of this year. Cerato is a midsize family sedan that will compete against the likes of Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Hyundai Elantra.
As per reports, Cerato shall feature a 1.6 Liter in-line 4 cylinder Petrol Engine that makes 123 horsepower and 154 newton/meters of torque and can be mated to a 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic gearbox.
Furthermore, it is believed that Kia Lucky Motors has already brought in multiple Cerato units for testing.
Lucky Group in the mobile sector
Samsung had reportedly come to an agreement with Lucky Group to produce and manufacture smartphones locally. This milestone has been achieved after the efforts made by the government to attract investors into the telecommunication market.
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has issued a notification on the 16th that confirmed the agreement between Lucky Motor Corporation Limited (LMC), a subsidiary of Lucky Cement, and Samsung Gulf Electronics Co., FZE (‘Samsung’) for local assembly of phones in Pakistan.
Additionally, Hammad Azhar’s tweet was a confirmation.
I congratulate Lucky Group and Samsung on entering into a JV to manufacture smart phones in Pakistan.
These positive developments are evidence of the success of DIRBS system that eliminated smuggling of phones. And then followed up by Mobile Manufacturing policy last year. https://t.co/UCEsF0dKVq— Hammad Azhar (@Hammad_Azhar) July 16, 2021
Doubts have been cast in the past on this with a big media outlet who mistakenly put out the news that this was not happening, and that the Korean mobile manufacturer had backed out.
However, Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood cleared the air with this tweet.
a joint venture with their local partner Lucky Motor Corporation for producing Samsung mobile devices in Pakistan soon.
— Abdul Razak Dawood (@razak_dawood) July 29, 2021
Lucky Motors Corporation is clearly coming up as a big name in the communication and transport sector of Pakistan.