Table of contents list of acronyms
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| 1.2. HISTORY OF THE SECTOR The first car ran on the roads of South Asia in 1897, and until the scars were imported directly, but in very small numbers. They were used largely by the rich or the senior- most civil servants belonging to the elitist Indian Civil Service. This changed just after the start of the Second World War. In 1945 the brothers Mahindra began assembling the Jeep CJ-3A utility vehicles under license from Willys and soon branched out into the manufacture of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and agricultural tractors. In Pakistan the history can be divided into several periods. The periods are 1947 until the assembly of trucks (the Bedford Rocket) started. The next growth phase is from 1972 until the private sector was introduced. The third phase saw the introduction of tractor manufacturing and when motorcycles began to be assembled. The fourth is when the private sector automobile assembly plants were established and the vendor industry began to make its presence felt. The latest phase is when exports have begun. A detailed chronological listing of the history of the industry is given in Appendix Ii bPhase 1: 1947 to 1972 In the post independence years the first automobile plant was setup in May 1949 by the General Motors & Sales Co. This plant started on an experimental basis and grew rapidly into an assembly plant for the Bedford trucks and Vauxhall cars. After witnessing this rapid growth the other three leading automobile firms in the United States collaborated with Pakistani entrepreneurs and setup Ali Automobiles to assemble Ford products in 1955; Haroon Industries to assemble Chrysler’s Dodge cars in 1956; and Kandawalla Industries to assemble American Motor products in 1962. In addition to this, in 1963 Hyesons established the Mack Trucks plant. All these plants were restricted to semi-knocked down units (SKD) and only had assembly operations. Then in 1963, General Motors plant was sold to Ghandhara Industries Limited and in 1966 it was granted permission to undertake the progressive manufacture of Bedford trucks and buses. The absence of organised components' manufacturing facilities, the lack of technological know-how and the absence of proper ancillary facilities for the design and development of tools, jigs and fixtures slowed down the process of localisation. Besides that there was not much effort 11 made to improve the technology and develop skills. Also the management of most of the above mentioned industries lacked professionalism. Download 0.77 Mb. Share with your friends:
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