By Muhammad Asad Tahir Bhawana ISLAMABAD, April 21 (INP-WealthPK): After reporting the highest growth in the last few months, Pakistan’s auto sector is now facing hiccups in production because prices have to be jacked up every now and then forced by the continuous depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar and high input costs, pushing the prices beyond the purchasing power of people. The automotive industry showed 50% growth in the first half of the fiscal year 2021-22, but now sales of cars are declining as prices have been on the increase caused by the continual depreciation of the rupee and high costs of imported raw materials. According to experts, a continuous increase in price with limitations on auto financing is causing a decline in automobile demand in the country. They further said that car prices rose an average of 10% in March due to increased prices of raw materials and exchange rate fluctuation. Almost all the automakers in Pakistan have increased the prices of cars. Many big companies have even stopped booking fresh orders as delivery of already booked cars slows down. Through a notification, Toyota Indus Motor Company has directed its dealers to stop bookings because of the current unstable condition of the market. The Lucky Motor Corporation has followed the suit by suspending the sale of its new models of Kia. The rest of the companies are also suspending fresh bookings. The first time the prices were increased was in November last year because of increasing costs. The prices were again jacked up in January because of a change in government policy. Now it is the third time in just six months that the carmakers have hiked prices because of increasing costs, high freight charges and increasing exchange rate volatility. The government had also taken note of the unbridled increase in auto prices. The ministry of industry and production has formed a committee to carry out a forensic audit and analysis of the prices. But it has yet to begin the task. According to industry experts, the auto prices are expected to continue to rise in the coming months if steps are not taken to cool the political temperatures and stabilise the local currency. “Any further depreciation of Pakistan rupee will further lead to an increase in prices of imported raw materials, which will ultimately push prices of cars up in the country,” said Mohammad Bilal, a showroom owner.