As part of the global efforts to reduce climate change, the government of Pakistan has formulated an Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy to expedite the conversion of the transport sector from conventional fuel power to electric power.
Under the new policy, a number of incentives on duties and taxes have been offered to automakers to aid them in the setting up of their manufacturing and assembly plants in Pakistan.
The goal of the policy is to have at least 30 percent of all of the vehicles in Pakistan based on an electric powertrain by 2030.
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The policy has not just been designed to benefit the automakers. A report by SAMAA News revealed that the purchase of an EV City car similar to the Suzuki Alto for around Rs. 1.2 million will be possible under the duties and tax regime that has been made to complement the EV policy.
This statement was made by the CEO of EV Technologies Consultant, Shaukat Qureshi, a representative of the SZS Group, the company that is assembling electric buses for Pakistan as the joint venture with POF Wah.
He added that the switching of cars to electric power will reduce carbon emissions to result in a positive climate change and to lower the import of dollar bills.
Qureshi remarked that a recent study by his company showed that a motorcyclist switching to an EV motorbike will be able to save Rs. 4,000 on fuel. Likewise, the user of an electric car user can save up to Rs. 25,000, and the EV commercial transportation companies can save between Rs. 600,000 and Rs. 900,000 every month.
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Although Qureshi’s claims seem attractive, they come across as overenthusiastic. Even international markets in the USA, the UK, and Europe are struggling to reduce the development costs of EVs. In such regions, the cheapest EVs with developed charging infrastructure and automotive market cost upwards of $20,000 or Rs. 3.2 million.
It is possible that the costs may be reduced but there is no benefit of buying a low-priced EV of poor quality. Based on expert opinion, given the current situation of the global EV industry, pricing an EV at Rs. 1.2 million is exorbitant.
