KARACHI, Dec 8: Local auto industry saves more foreign exchange as it spends on average $4600 to import one completely knocked down (CKD) unit against $9,800 spent on one used car unit and that too transmitted through illegal means.

It means the government is losing $5,000 in terms of foreign exchange on one imported car, Iqbal Hussain Shah, Vice Chairman, Pakistan Automobile Manufacturer Assembler Dealer Association (PAMADA), said in a statement on Saturday.

He said that dealers of used cars are providing jobs to only few thousand people at 4,000 dealership network which has nontechnical labour while local auto industry is providing employment of over 2.2 million people which include trained and technical staff.

He said import trade price was set in 2005 after which international car prices have been jackedup due to currency depreciation and huge 40 per cent depreciation allowance that eases down imported cars` prices.

He said if the same rebate is given to the local car industry, consumers would have cheaper brand new Made in Pakistan cars.

He said only local auto industry creates real economic activity as auto parts worth over Rs60 billion are manufactured locally every year while in the used car import segment, there is no local manufacturing.

Iqbal Hussain said that the local auto industry pays more taxes to the government as over Rs65 billion tax contribution was being made by the entire local auto industry annually while imported used cars segment pays less than Rs21 billion.

He said that three local assemblers invested more than Rs40 billion in the last few years while used car dealers have made nil investment.