The Announcement of Making Electric Vehicles in Pakistan, But What are The Opportunities and Challenges?

• Two main Chinese companies have launched their electric vehicles ( EV )in Pakistan.
• Chinese largest company BYD has also announced to set up a production plant startups in Karachi.
• The largest Chinese Master Changan has also introduced his own electric vehicles car and SUV called Deepal which is priced around about 1 crore.
• According to experts if the issues are resolved, also the local consumer may be interested in purchasing electric vehicles (EV) and SUV.

Two different largest Chinese companies have recently launched their fully fledged electric vehicles (EV) and SUV in Pakistan. One of them is the company you can called ( BYD ) which is world most famous and lot of recognition in Europe and America while the other company is ( Master Changan Motors ) which is already manufacturing high level petrol and diesel engine vehicles in Pakistan. .

The Chinese multinational manufacturing company BYD has also announced to set up a production plant in the Karachi Pakistan. According to experts that Pakistan can take advantage of this opportunity to become the center point of electric vehicles (EV) and SUV running according to the left-hand traffic system in the world.

If we talk about left-hand traffic system, the driver is usually on the right-hand side and Pakistan is among the countries where the driver is on the right-hand side.

According to Experts and analysts are welcoming the advent of electric vehicle technology in Pakistan. But they see only limited scope for expansion in demand for electric vehicles here.

Expert Ali Khan says that the official announcement of electric vehicle cars production will bring new way of life and technology to the sector and also create new job opportunities. But according to him, the prices of electric vehicles (EV) are too high at the moment that they will be too limited to the richest class of the whole country.

Mashhood Ali Khan said that another main problem in the country is the lack of charging infrastructure system for electric vehicles. However, it can be soon established in partnership with local investors, government and investment companies. However, it will take little time.

He also said that it is very important for BYD to manufacture electric vehicles (EV) in Pakistan because by manufacturing these electric vehicles at little low cost in Pakistan, the company can sell them in the 60 plus countries around the world where according to the left-hand traffic system. There is a drive.

He also said that earlier China made Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam the center for the mega production of certain types of vehicle cars and now Pakistan can also become the center of electric vehicles (EV). Of course Pakistan can earn a too much of foreign exchange by exporting vehicles manufactured here.

In response to the few question that it does not seem very easy to attract foreign investment in Pakistan at this time, the announcement of BYD company mean? Mashhood Ali Khan said that there is no doubt that looking at the economic conditions of Pakistan at the moment, it is not very easy to invest here. But it is a very big company and it believes that Pakistan’s economic problems will subside in a few years and the situation here will improve.

If the problems are resolved, the local consumer may also be interested in purchasing electric vehicles.

Auto mobile experts also believe that the electric cars could become more accessible to consumers if the government official addresses key policy issues. This could include offering incentives to all electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers, little bit facilitating financing for such vehicles and reducing taxes on their import.

According to experts, this kind of initiative very reduce Pakistan’s fuel import bill, which currently stands at more than $15 billion a year. On the other hand, it can help increase the number of environmentally friendly vehicles.

According to the data of Pakistan Engineering Development Board, more than 30 licenses have been issued to manufacture electric vehicles (EV) in Pakistan. But all these are for motorcycle and rickshaw preparations.

According to experts and analysts, its scope is gradually expanding in the entire country due to government initiatives, friendly environmental concerns, next level potential in the market, good hope for local manufacturing, little cost savings and the growing trend of consumers.

However, according to experts and analysts, the channels hindering the development of electric vehicles (EV) include problems such as lack of investment, very poor road infrastructure, electricity too much load shedding, devaluation of rupee, limited charging infrastructure.

What is BYD’s plan in Pakistan?

BYD Company in association with Mega Motors in Pakistan has introduced its first three electric vehicles (EV) in the country. If we talk about its car, the company says that it can be driven up to 1100 kilometers after a full charge.

Chinese multinational manufacturing company BYD, which started its journey in 1995, is currently selling electric vehicles (EV) in 91 plus countries across six continents. This company started working in the field of electric vehicles (EV) 20 years ago.

Officially more than seven lakh employees are working in the BYD company and now this company has also announced to set up its production plant in Karachi Pakistan which can start its production by the year 2026.

Company officials say that this will create new job opportunities in the people of country and provide customers with all the best and latest electric vehicles.

Mega Motors Company, part of Hub Power Company plans to set up three state-of-the-art flagship friendly stores and customer experience centers in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. The company has also announced to set up fast charging stations in major cities, motorways and highways.

Reasonable cost and availability of charging facility are major challenges in Pakistan

If we talk another Chinese company, Master Changan Motors, has introduced its electric vehicles under the name of ( Deepal L07 and Deepal s07 ), which consists of sports luxury sedan and SUV models.

A officially statement issued by the company said that its sedan car can run up to 540 km on a single charge while the SUV can run up to 485 km.

Daniyal Malik, CEO of Chinese company Master Changan Motors, says that there are currently more than 2,000 electric vehicles in the country, but there are still challenges in this regard.

According to Malik the First main challenge is to introduce affordable electric cars in the market of Pakistan.

He said that, the Second biggest challenge, is getting the battery life to last for long drives. Changan Motors Electric Vehicle SUV car can complete the journey from Lahore to Islamabad on a single charge or can be driven within the city for a week without any charging.

According to the Malik, Third major challenge is to establish a strong network through which their after-sales friendly support can be present in the country. For this purpose Chinese Changan Motors has decided to give a next level warranty of up to eight years or two hundred and forty thousand kilometers to the electric vehicle (EV) owners.

He said that, the Fourth huge challenge in this regard is to improve and establish charging infrastructure. If we talk about currently situation, this facility is available in only five cities of the country, which is being expanded to 17 cities across the country in which there will be around about 23 charging points.

At present, the price of Deepal’s SUV model is around about Rs 1 crore 65 lakh,

while the ex-factory price of the sedan model around about Rs 1 crore 55 lakh.

The prices have not been officially announced by BYD company so far.