Karachi: Indus Motor Company (IMC) on 28th May 2022 announced a landmark achievement of having produced one million vehicles since it began mass production back in 1993.
The one millionth unit, a Toyota Corolla Grande, was lined off at the company’s plant at Karachi, amidst much fanfare. The celebration was attended by over 4,000 employees and representatives from Toyota, which included Yoshiki Konishi, current Executive Advisor & President-elect, Toyota Daihatsu Engineering & Manufacturing, (TDEM) from June 2022.
Nearly three decades ago, the first Toyota Corolla was lined off which today stands proudly displayed at the company’s headquarters. From producing 20 just over 7,000 units annually and a single model (Corolla) back in 1993 to over close to 80,000 units a year and four models today, IMC has come a long way.
Since commencement of commercial production, the company has to date, cumulatively produced 761,700 Corolla, 45,400 Yaris, 111,900 Hilux and Fortuner, under the Toyota badge whilst 81,000 Cuore with the Daihatsu badge.
IMC has played a pivotal role in the country’s economy, since its incorporation in 1989, laying the foundation of automobile industry in Pakistan and development of a local engineering base, leading the way towards localization.
IMC’s contribution can be ascertained from the company’s complete value chain that today consists of part makers supplying over Rs 270 million worth of parts every working day to produce the best in class Toyota vehicles for Pakistan, sold through a growing network of 52 authorised dealerships across the country.
Congratulating the IMC team, Mr Konishi expressed, “For the last 3 decades, our Team Toyota Pakistan has constantly striven to exceed our customers’ expectations by making high quality, reliable and safe vehicles that met all challenges with great success, growing from strength to strength in making Toyota the leading & trusted brand in Pakistan. Your leadership & pursuit to support the development of the local auto manufacturing industry is commendable. I am sure this helps our effort to create more and more Toyota fans in Pakistan. We are fully convinced Pakistan market has a great potential and we have high expectations of IMC.”
Expressing himself, the company’s Chairman, Mohamedali R Habib said, “Toyota & Japan have remained the most committed partners for Pakistan and very recently, we celebrated the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the country’s diplomatic relations with Japan. We value our relationship and send our warmest wishes to the people of Japan. The level of localization we have achieved would not have been possible without the constant support and endeavors of our partners. I would like to congratulate each and every individual on my team for achieving this milestone and many more to follow, Inshallah, together.”
“Alhamdolillah, today is a proud, yet a very humbling moment for all of us at IMC. It’s the realization of a dream envisioned by our late Chairman, Ali Habib. The past 30 years have been a journey of crests and troughs, but what has seen us through is the resilience, persistence and commitment to quality that has helped us reach this far. We are proud of our contributions to the auto industry and the country’s economy,” said Chief Executive, IMC, Ali Asghar Jamali.
Commenting on the future outlook, he added, “IMC has invested US$30 million on upgrading the plant and gearing up to expand production capacity to 76,000 units annually by November this year. Our people are our biggest strength by far and I am very grateful and thank them for their dedication. We are surely blessed with the best people, dealers, suppliers and a powerful brand and of course, our loyal customers whom I want to especially thank for patronizing us over the years. Like we say at Toyota, we don’t make customers for life, we make customers for generations.”
In September 2021, IMC announced an over US$100 million investment for the local production of Hybrid Electric Vehicles in Pakistan and the localization of components, plant expansion and production preparation for the first HEV to be manufactured at IMC plant.