The announcement by Lucky Motors Corporation that they were slashing the price of their subcompact crossover SUV, the KIA Stonic, by over Rs 15 lakhs was nothing short of a declaration of war.
The government of Pakistan had announced in March this year they were increasing the tax on cars with a factory price of more than Rs 40 lakhs. One might have expected cars like the Toyota Yaris, the Suzuki Swift, or the Honda City to cut their prices by a few lakhs to take advantage of the lower tax.Â
What wasn’t expected was that the KIA Stonic, priced at Rs 62.8 lakhs after tax, would drop its after tax price by 24% down to Rs 47.67 lakhs overnight. The response has not been disappointing. Buyers made a beeline towards KIA showrooms and conservative estimates confirmed by KIA’s management to Profit claim the company sold over 700 cars in three days
KIA had to close bookings over the weekend and now plan to open them up again on Monday or Tuesday. As of now, the company has taken bookings for up until September and it seems the KIA Stonic might be the car of this summer season. And it isn’t just customers that have had to jump out of their seats for the Stonic.Â