THE past 15 years have proved to be quite a bumpy ride for the country’s automobile industry which has seen many ups and downs since the late 2000s. The last three years have been particularly bad for the industry which is undoubtedly one of the most protected sectors of the economy. Carmakers are often criticised for the high prices of vehicles and their poor quality and missing safety features, delayed deliveries, the exorbitant premium buyers are forced to pay and so on. Read: In their defence, the manufacturers have always blamed the massive government taxes that amount to over 40pc of the total price in certain cases and very low economies of scale as only 17 out of every 1,000 Pakistanis own a car compared to 77 in Indonesia, 281 in Thailand and 70 in India. The import of cheaper, used cars under various schemes for overseas Pakistanis is also said to have suffocated local car production. While the government has made the import of used cars difficult, it has significantly cut automobile taxes in the budget to bring down their prices. The assemblers have already responded to the initiative and revised down their prices, which is expected to push car sales in the country.