Hybrid Sales Have Stalled and Assemblers Stopped Invoicing, With 18 Per Cent Now on the Table
Assemblers have suspended hybrid deliveries until the new auto policy lands. A cut from 25 to 18 per cent is under consideration. What buyers do.
Two days ago we wrote that hybrid sales tax had tripled to 25 per cent by expiry rather than by decision, and that some manufacturers were already delaying deliveries. The delay is now the story: assemblers have suspended invoicing and deliveries of hybrid models entirely, waiting for a policy that has not arrived.
And there is one genuinely new number in today's reporting: a rate of 18 per cent is under consideration.
Where the rate stands
| Rate | Status |
|---|---|
| 8.5 per cent | The concession under the 2021-26 policy, expired 30 June |
| 25 per cent | In force now, the standard rate hybrids reverted to |
| 18 per cent | Under consideration, reported as a proposed middle ground |
Treat 18 as a number in a conversation, not a rate you can plan around. Nothing has been notified, and until it is, 25 per cent is what a hybrid costs. We are flagging it because it changes how a waiting buyer should think, not because it changes what anyone pays today.
The market froze rather than adjusted
This is the part worth understanding, because it is not what most people expect a tax rise to do.
Faced with a tripled rate and a replacement policy that might cut it again, several assemblers have stopped invoicing and delivering hybrids altogether. The logic is defensive: hand a car over at 25 per cent, and if the rate drops to 18 next month, you have an angry customer who paid more than the person behind them in the queue, and possibly a refund argument you never budgeted for.
So the outcome is a market where nobody wins. Industry representatives put it plainly: vehicles sit unsold, buyers wait, and the government collects no tax revenue on sales that are not happening. A rate rise designed to raise revenue is currently raising less than the concession did, because the transactions stopped.
Among named models, Chery Tiggo PHEVs are the one specifically reported as having risen in price. Aggregate sales figures have not been published, and we are not going to imply a percentage nobody has stated.
What a buyer should actually do
Three positions, and which one you are in decides everything.
If you have a booking and no delivery date, ask your dealer two specific questions in writing: what price applies at delivery, and whether the booking is protected against a rate change in either direction. A verbal assurance from a salesperson during a policy vacuum is worth what it sounds like.
If you were about to book, waiting has an actual argument behind it for the first time. It is not a bet that prices fall generally; it is a specific proposal at 18 per cent under active consideration, with an industry lobbying hard and a Deputy Prime Minister assigned to redraft. That is a better reason to wait than any we could offer two days ago.
If you need a car now, the hybrid premium is at its worst point in years and the fuel-saving arithmetic has moved with it. Petrol has come down three days running, which we covered in the piece on why those cuts are smaller than the oil crash behind them, and a cheaper pump price lengthens a hybrid's payback period at exactly the moment its purchase price is highest.
What breaks the deadlock
One thing: a notified Auto Policy 2026-31, or an interim rate notification ahead of it. The auto industry has publicly urged the Prime Minister to intervene on tariffs and the policy delay, which tells you where they think the decision now sits.
Watch for a notification, not a statement. A minister saying relief is under consideration and an SRO changing the rate are different objects, and only one of them unfreezes a delivery. That distinction is the same one we drew about the proposed dynamic petroleum levy, and it holds here for the same reason.
Our earlier caution stands and is worth repeating: our articles on the best hybrid SUVs, the Kia Sportage L Hybrid and the MG ZS Hybrid carry pre-July prices. In a market where assemblers have stopped invoicing, no published price is reliable, ours or anyone's. Confirm at the dealer, in writing.
Questions readers are asking
Why have hybrid deliveries stopped?
Several assemblers suspended invoicing and deliveries until the new auto policy is announced, rather than sell at 25 per cent while a lower rate is under consideration.
What is the hybrid sales tax right now?
25 per cent, since the 2021-26 policy expired on 30 June and took the 8.5 per cent concession with it. An 18 per cent rate is reported as under consideration but has not been notified.
Should I wait to buy a hybrid?
Waiting now has a concrete argument: a specific lower rate is under active consideration and industry is lobbying for it. Nothing is guaranteed, and no date exists for the new policy.
Will I get a refund if the rate drops after I buy?
That depends entirely on your dealer's written terms, which is why the price applying at delivery should be confirmed in writing before you pay anything.
Which models are affected?
Hybrids and plug-in hybrids broadly. Chery Tiggo PHEVs are the model specifically named in reporting as having risen in price.
Why did the new policy get delayed?
Objections from local assemblers to an early draft that accelerated EV adoption pushed it back for revision, and it has not been announced since.
About the author
Author
Ali Akhtar is a young and curious voice here at Pakistan Era. He is currently pursuing his A-Levels and has a growing interest in Pakistan’s changing industrial landscape and educational trends. Ali likes to write in a way that helps him explain and explore the world around him. His writing reflects the perspective of the new generation navigating the evolving trends of Pakistan where technology, youth innovation, and shifting opportunities are reshaping the country’s future.
