r/pakistan • u/YouDontMessWithJim • 19h ago
Discussion Why are cars so expensive?
In pakistan basically every cars price is tripled. Look at the BMW i7, it’s used as a taxi in Europe yet literally one of the most elite cars you can find in Pakistan. Camry is thought to be a budget car in Europe meanwhile in pakistan it costs 1CR. Why is this the case?
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u/RoyalSpecky 18h ago edited 13h ago
I7s are not used as taxis in Europe in London you may see them alot with drivers as wealthy indivuals reside and tend to use either s class or i7. And also taxis in Europe are usually Toyota's skodas or Renault's bro and Pakistans high car costs due to low competition on local manufactured cars and high import taxes on foreign cars
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u/Apprehensive-Print33 US 18h ago
Basic i7 is msrp 106k in US. Are you sure it’s run as taxi?
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u/Revolutionary_Bed431 18h ago
It’s heavily used as a chauffeur vehicle here in the UK. Not exactly a taxi but not far off.
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u/Apprehensive-Print33 US 18h ago
Ahh I see. I guess the answer to opp is custom duties in Pakistan. They probably make they cars way more expensive than they should be
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u/Adventurous-Cash2044 15h ago
1 crore comes out to 36k. That’s about right for entry level Camry in the US. You can even get corollas for more in the US
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u/alibukharishah 12h ago
i7s aren’t commonly used as regular cabs or Ubers. They’re expensive enough that using one commercially doesn’t make much financial sense. If you do see one being used for Uber, chances are the owner is doing it part-time to help manage the payments.
That said, the underlying point is valid. A Camry is an normal, practical workhorse in many countries. In Pakistan, however, extremely high import duties and taxes make even relatively ordinary vehicles disproportionately expensive.
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u/HopingillWin 14h ago
In Germany there are many taxis that are mercedes. In other countries there seen as a luxury only vehicle. I think sometimes a local view distorts the global perception, maybe same here?
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u/1n1t2w1nIt 17h ago
There aren't a lot of ways for the government to raise revenues as Pakistan is primarily a consumption based economy.
Taxing vehicle's has been one of the more better ways to raise revenues.
Thar is why they are never going to go down the path of lowering custom duties of vehicles.
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u/pakwatan5231 16h ago
Because of the import duty taxes. Currency conversion and overall governance of Pakistan
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u/ell-ta 15h ago
Your analysis isn’t right!
A) BMW is a taxi in Europe why? Because it is German engineering and that’s their loyalty to a local and an EU brand.
B) Camry isn’t common in Europe (only certain countries) as they can’t opt for Japanese cars directly, refer to A again.
C) Camry is preferred by common man as it’s Japanese engineering and there is no doubts about it and i don’t have doubts on it. Even Americans are in awe of Japanese engineering. I personally have live in 4 continents and always opted Toyota as a first car.
D) why cars are expensive in Pakistan courtesy taxes, the government etc, and the way prices are inflated, currency, income level, median-household income etc
You question is more of an economic question
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u/Competitive-Bass-756 14h ago
BMW i7 as taxis? Are you mad or what. 99% of taxis in UK are Toyota prius , corrola or Skoda . No on could afford to buy and run and i7 for a taxi lol
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u/sahil_2025 14h ago
Reason behind it, Pakistan's corrupt elite wants difference between normal taxpayers and resource looted elite.........credit goes to West Pindi Company......
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u/Saadi_me 12h ago
and the ones you do find for cheap are older than the country and the most barebones car you can find. entry level cars didn't even have airbags until half a decade ago! and even those are beyond what the average pakistani can afford
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u/PossibleArt7440 7h ago
bmw i7 are luxury cars across the globe.
so are lexus.
Cadillacs
eventhough they are used to chauffeur people around.
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u/KhalilMirza 6h ago
Pakistan is one of 11 countries that manufacture cars. Since we do not have huge consumer base. Not even 5 lac new cars are sold each year in total. Without that margins are very weak. There is no benefit for companies to invest more and bring the cost down.
If we import cars with same level of tax of our local manufactured cars, we will get cheaper cars. More inline with international prices before tax. But we loose good jobs and we save some dollars as well.
In my opinion, we should not block international cars at all. We should only have a cap according to our dollar reserves. We should more basic manufacturing first then step by step we reach at cars. Then companies do not have to develop the entire supply chain.
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u/NamiIsLif 3h ago
Op Bhai. Where do you find I7 taxis? I mostly see Toyotas, teslas and Chinese Ev's. For more luxury ones they use Mercedes. (Lives in norway)
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u/FakeKhan99 PK 16h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/SaJLhvMPUAiWI
go to Europe if u don't like Pakistan
who the hell told u i7 as taxi in uk like in uae(Dubai) that,s possible but not Europe.
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u/pizzaboy235 17h ago
The i7 is one ugly car. Too big for UK roads. In Pakistan, you'll have import tax.
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u/Anonymous_ANYT 19h ago
BMW i7s are NOT used as taxis in europe mate. dk where you're getting your info from. They usually use a 3 series or lower for uber and stuff.
that said, pakistan has over 400% tax on import luxury cars, which explains the price.