Customers Look for Local Electric Cars in Pakistan

Ibn-e-Ameer

The government has already approved the manufacturing of local electric cars in Pakistan. After the electric cars are on road, they will make a lot of difference for the country, customers, climate, and even the energy map. During the last several decades, the oil lobby has been ruling the country.

However, this lobby has lost some portion of the market after LNG has made footprints in Pakistan that captured the market of the power sector. After electric cars are in the market, the oil lobby will face another blow as it will be losing a major share in the auto market. However, it will take a few years to complete the shift of fuel.

Govt announces to start manufacturing of local cars

Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar had informed in July 2021 that that under the clean and green initiative of the Prime Minister, local assembling of electric cars would start in the country this year.

Addressing a consultative workshop “Scaling up electric Mobility in Pakistan” the minister had said the government has introduced its first national EV policy last year to promote EV adoption.

Under this initiative, car manufacturers will also start assembling electric cars in Pakistan.

The government reduced the custom duties and sales tax on EVs which would help accelerate this transition towards cleaner and efficient mobility, he said.

The minister said the role of EV charging infrastructure was critical. Hence, the widespread, accessible public charging infrastructure network was needed to support a robust EV market, he said.

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The minister said there are some unique challenges that we had to address towards achieving our electric mobility goals. First, we had to provide a reliable supply of power to charge these EVs and this would require upgrading the grid and distribution network, he said.

He said the assembling of the electric motorbikes has already started in the country.

As it was a new technology and it required charging infrastructure.

He said the private sector has also started developing charging infrastructure in the country.

The government would fully support the private sector in this regard, he added.

The minister said there was a need for establishing the regulatory framework to streamline the development of EV charging stations across the country.

He urged the NEECA and other relevant entities to expedite work on regulation, standardization, and licensing policy for the development of charging infrastructure.

He said it would not only reduce billion of dollars oil import bills but also help control pollution in cities and absorb the surplus electricity capacity in the country.

The minister congratulated NEECA and the UNDP for their partnership on this aspect of electrification of the road transport sector in Pakistan.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, MD NEECA Dr.Sardar Mohazzam said that NEECA had powers was authorized to define the standard of charging station for EV.

Read More: MG Motors starts a test drive of MG ZS Electric Vehicle

Investors were setting up charging stations in various parts of the country for charging EVs, he said.

However, he said the government would decide the price and standard of voltage for charging EVs.

Meanwhile, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Ms. Aliona Niculita said that transport and energy were priority sectors for UNDP and they would provide full cooperation to the government in this regard.

MG Motors starts drive test for electric cars in Pakistan

Earlier, MG Motors began a test drive of their MG ZS Electric Vehicle in June 2021.

MG Motors had been on social media due to the huge following of its owner and now it starts a test drive of MG ZS Electric Vehicle.

According to industry insiders, the car will have a permanent-magnet synchronous electric motor and a 44.5Kwh battery, will have a 105kW/353Nm, will be front-wheel drive, and will have a range of 263 kilometers (WLTP). According to the manufacturer, the battery has a range of 134 kilometers when completely charged.

Made in Pakistan MG EV pic.twitter.com/zggppTFBR7

— Javed Afridi (@JAfridi10) June 23, 2021

However, the firm’s owner, Javed Afridi, claimed in a tweet that the vehicle was “Made in Pakistan MG EV,” implying that the company is manufacturing the vehicle in Pakistan, however, the video clip in question was taken from the Morris Garages Indian Company.

“It was a brief video clip showing the construction of an MG ZS EV in Pakistan, but there was something wrong about it that prompted me to look into it more on the internet. I spotted the identical video on the Morris Garages India YouTube channel a minute later “According to a renowned Pakistani website.

In truth, the movie is about the local assembly of the first MG ZS EV in India, and the building depicted in the video is in fact an MG factory in the Indian state of Gujrat, the company explained.

Javed Afridi, a representative of a well-known automobile manufacturer in Pakistan with a social media following of more than 3 million people, posted a video taken from another source on his page.

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The MG local assembly plant in Pakistan is now under construction, and customers will be able to purchase MG complete knockdown automobiles in the near future. However, posting a video of an overseas manufacturing facility, particularly one in India, with the tagline “Made in Pakistan” is completely improper, dishonest, and immoral.

Since its entry into the Pakistani market, MG Pakistan has reportedly faced a number of scandals. Stunts and gaffes of this nature will only serve to generate concerns and suspicions in the eyes of the public, thereby undermining the MG’s name.

In the wake of their under-invoicing scandal and questionable after-sales service and support, the corporation has already become the topic of heated criticism.

A dispute between MG Motors Pakistan and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) over tax issues and customs taxes resulted in the seizure of approximately 816 MG SUV vehicles at the Karachi port a few months ago.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) stated that MG Motors was importing vehicles into Pakistan via under-invoicing. It had sent the subject to the Post Clearance Audit department for further examination. MG Motors has denied the allegations.

Later, the Sindh High Court ordered the corporation to pay the full amount of customs duty and other fees in order to clear 816 MG SUVs parked at the port.

EV Policy

The PTI had approved EV Policy in June 2021 to set up electric car manufacturing plants in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, it approved a policy for electric 2-3 wheelers, motorcycles, rickshaws, loaders. However, it also approved incentives for heavy commercial vehicles, including buses and trucks.

The government approved a policy to acquire technology and encourage EV manufacturing. Therefore,  it will help address the negative aspects of climate change through vehicle emission reduction.

The government believed that it would create employment generation through new investments. It will further reduce the oil import bill.

Incentives

The government has offered tax incentives for setting up a manufacturing plant. It reduces general sales tax to 1 percent for 2-3 wheelers.

The government exempted registration and token tax for 2-3 wheelers. It reduced toll tax to 50% for EVs.

However, the government decided that it would pass on the benefits of EV policy to existing manufacturers.

Import of 2-3 wheelers

The government also reduced customs duty on importing new EVs (2-3 wheelers) in CBU conditions from 50 to 10 percent. It capped the import of 200 units.

The government reduced custom duty to 1 percent to local manufacturers on import of entire CKD. Moreover, it reduced sales tax to 1 % at sales and waived off at the import stage. The government encouraged the State Bank of Pakistan to extend the financing for green investments.

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