Nexus Automotive

Nexus Automotive (Pvt) Ltd was an importer and assembler of General Motors products in Pakistan. The company was founded by M.A. Razaq, an expatriate Pakistani who retired as Corporate Vice President of General Motors Corporation, 1999. Balubaid Establishment of Saudi Arabia, a diversified group involved in automotive, real estate, and other industrial businesses, was an investor in the assembly business of Nexus Automotive. The company was privately owned, with ownership distributed between Pakistani and Saudi families. Nexus used the idle capacity at the Ghandhara Nissan Limited plant at Port Qasim to assemble vehicles, under a contract assembly agreement.

The project was estimated at 15 million US dollars and GM-Chevrolet provided support to ensure that the local components and the car assembly met GM quality standards. The company also planned to export its models to other countries in South Asia and Africa. The source of assembly kits and imported units is GM Daewoo, a GM subsidiary in South Korea that supplies Chevrolet, Opel, Suzuki, and Daewoo branded vehicles to markets including the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Australia and Asia. GM Daewoo is also the "corporate center of excellence" for GM's global small car platform, code-named Gamma. Current products exported by GM Daewoo include Chevrolet Spark, Aveo, Optra, Captiva, and Epica.

Model lineup

Previously, Nexus imported the Chevrolet Optra and Chevrolet Joy vehicles and marketed them nationally through their franchised dealer network. From December 2005, the manufacturing of Chevrolet Joy started in Pakistan. Other GM products sourced from the global GM network were also planned for introduction to the Pakistani local market.

Competition

Pakistan's automotive sector has experienced significant growth. The small car segment remains partially monopolized by PakSuzuki and other brands. In past, Government policies have consistently favored Paksuzuki, Toyota, and Honda due to which further investment has been blocked in the country. But now new policies are inviting new producers to enter the market. When Nexus Automotive was operating Gandhara Nissan (Nissan), Deewan Mushtaq (Hyundai and Kia), and Adam Motors had assembling operations in Pakistan.

Reasons for Failure and revival

The company struggled to make substantial sales in the market dominated by Paksuzuki and used car imports. Despite being a new entrant, no incentive was granted to Nexus by the government similar to Adam motors. Eventually the sales dropped to the point where assembly became nonviable and the company exclusively focused on CBU (Completely Built Unit) imports during its final months. Nexus ceased operations in 2006.

It has been reported by the media that General Motors along with Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan may consider entering the Pakistani market again. The 2016-21 Automotive Industry Development Policy approved in March 2016 includes incentives for new entrants and non-operational units (such as Nexus, Gandhara Nissan, and Deewan Farooq). The new policy has increased the chances of these units resuming their operations in Pakistan. [1]

References
  1. http://tribune.com.pk/story/1068402/long-awaited-auto-policy-approved-door-wide-open-for-new-entrant/
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