chevrolet in pakistan

Chevrolet enjoys a long and distinguished history in Pakistan which pre-dates partition. The first Chevrolets came to British India in the early 1920s, and were sought after by nawabs, maharajas, and the social elite as part of their automobile collections. Chevrolet established an office in pre-partition India in 1928. An office was set up in Bombay with an assembly plant constructed in Sewree. General Motors (GM), Chevrolet’s parent company, was the first automobile company to open an assembly plant in India.

Production started in 1928 with the National Series AB Touring. The AB series came with Chevrolet’s well proven and reliable 171 cubic inches, 24.7hp four-cylinder engine. It featured Chevrolet’s first four-wheel mechanical brakes and wooden wheels. In the first year of production, 13,903 GM cars and trucks were built at Sewree, including products from other GM brands.

Source: GM India

The Chevrolet brand quickly proved trustworthy and dependable. As a result, a large amount of Chevrolets were imported between 1918 and 1928. The Chevrolets imported during these years mainly consisted of small four-cylinder Tourers, because they delivered the most impressive fuel economy and were simple to run. Even the Nizam of Hyderabad (Dakkan) – considered the richest man in the world at the time – used Chevrolet Tourers as official cars.

In 1930, the Indian market became even more competitive as Ford introduced the popular Model A, whose all-steel body made it a great success. Chevrolet replied with a revolutionary six-cylinder engine that developed 46 horsepower. And it was this very car that gave Chevrolet its highest sales in India in 1931.

Chevrolet also played its role in the Pakistan movement. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah – an avid collector of fine automobiles – drove a Chevrolet, and also had other General Motors cars such as Cadillac in his collection (this vehicle is still on display at Mohatta Palace in Karachi). A little known piece of trivia is that Jinnah and Louis Chevrolet shared the same birthday – December 25 th – although Chevrolet was nine years younger than Jinnah.

Chevrolets were sold in Pakistan well into the 1970s, after which the automotive regime was changed and Chevrolet gradually withdrew to its home market in the United States .