KARACHI: Auto finan­cing increased for the second consecutive month by 3.7 per cent month-on-month to Rs236 billion in October compared to Rs227.541bn in September and Rs227.296bn in August thanks to falling interest rates. However, the outstanding loans plunged by 10.7pc year-on-year, accor­ding to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). In September, auto fin­ancing was revived after 27 months. In June 2022, it peaked at Rs368bn, but high interest rates had kept auto financing under pressure. The SBP started reduci­­ng interest rates from June 10, slashing to 20pc from 22pc followed by a further reduction to 19.5pc on July 29, 17.5pc on Sept 12 and 15pc on Nov 4. Overall car, SUV, vans and pickup sales swelled 50pc during 4MFY25 to 40,693 units as private banks also offer different fixed rates followed by price discounts by the local assemblers. Despite rising sales, Indus Motor Company Ltd (IMC) on Tuesday annou­nced a second plant closure from Nov 27-29 after keeping production suspended from Nov 18-20. In a stock filing, the company said it is experiencing low raw materials and components inventory levels and facing ongoing supply chain challenges. As a result, the company is unable to meet its production requirements. For the same reasons, IMC had also kept its plant closed from July 15-22, August 6-8, Sept 26-30, and Oct 29-31. IMCs profit after tax (PAT) surged by 58pc to Rs5 billion for the quarter ended Sept 30 from Rs3.216bn in the same period of 2023, followed by a 27pc rise in net sales turnover to Rs41.6bn from Rs32.6bn. As per data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), import of completely knocked down (CKD) kits rose by 35pc to $282 million during July-October from $208.5m in the same period last year, thus signalling local assemblers have huge bookings in hands. On Tuesday, Ghandhara Tyre and Rubber Company Ltd (GTR) said that the boiler will be shut down due to planned work on its utility line in the factory. Consequently, the company has temporarily suspended plant operations from Nov 27 to Dec 2. GTR does not foresee any adverse impact on its sales as all regional offices will remain operational to ensure a continued supply of tyres.