Minister of Energy Hammad Azhar expressed optimism that local assembly of electric vehicles (EVs) would begin this year under the Prime Minister’s clean and green agenda.
The minister said the government introduced its first national EV policy last year and announced new incentives to promote EV adoption at a consultative workshop titled “Scaling up electric Mobility in Pakistan,” which was co-hosted by the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The government reduced custom duties and sales tax on EVs which would help accelerate this transition towards cleaner and efficient mobility, he said.
The importance of EV charging infrastructure, according to the minister, is vital. As a result, he said, a widespread, easily accessible public charging infrastructure network was required to maintain a healthy EV market.
“There were some particular issues that we had to overcome in order to achieve our electric mobility goals,” the minister stated. First, we needed to provide a steady supply of electricity to charge these electric vehicles, which included modernising the grid and distribution network.”
He said that the assembling of electric motorbikes has already been started in the country. As it was a new technology and it required charging infrastructure, he said that 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 stated that a legal framework was required to streamline the growth of electric vehicle charging stations across the country. He urged the NEECA and other key organisations to speed up work on charging infrastructure regulation, standardisation, and licencing policies. He claimed that it would not only save billions of dollars in oil import bills, but would also help manage pollution in cities and absorb the country’s excess electricity capacity.
The minister praised NEECA and the UNDP for their collaboration on this area of Pakistan’s road transportation electrification.
Dr. Sardar Mohazzam, MD NEECA, had previously stated that NEECA was authorised to create the standard for EV charging stations. He claimed that charging stations for electric vehicles were being installed up over the country.
However, he stated that the price and voltage standard for charging EVs would be determined.
