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Stalled prospects
Although the companies mentioned above are already producing or soon to start production, many other local automotive ventures had their venture abruptly halted because of the ongoing pandemic.
Bangladesh Auto Industries Ltd. (BAIL), was planning to establish an electric vehicle factory on Bangabandhu Industrial Park. With an initial investment of $200 million that would total to $1 billion within the next five years, the company planned to manufacture from two-wheelers to sedans, SUVs, pick-ups, mini-trucks, and multipurpose vehicles. Unfortunately, the pandemic slowed down BAIL s plans considerably, with all plans being moved back a year. In an interview with The Daily Star Mir Masud Kabir, managing director of BAIL, said We missed the target as the suppliers could not ship the required equipment on time even though we opened letters of credit earlier on, said Mir Masud Kabir, managing director of BAIL. We were on track before the Covid-19 crisis hit but the
A brief look at the auto industry in Bangladesh
Photo: Akif Hamid
The rapid growth of our economy and people s purchasing power has seen a rise in demand for personal transport. People are buying more cars and motorcycles than ever before, being able to pay their way through the duty inflated prices. To support this higher demand, more and more transport manufacturers have set up or setting up plants for local production. We have analysed both industries to see their current state and what the future holds for them.
Starting with four wheels, the car market in Bangladesh is small compared to many of our neighboring countries. Bangladesh s automobile density the number of vehicles per unit length of the roadway is as low as 0.5 percent, compared to the global average of 12 percent. Data from Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) shows that there are a total of 4,471,625 registered vehicles in the country, of which only 370,519 are registered as Private Passenger Car foll