With petrol prices in Pakistan reaching approximately Rs321 per litre following escalating conflict in the Middle East, the financial calculus of driving a conventional sport utility vehicle is shifting sharply in favour of plug-in hybrid and extended-range electric vehicles. What was once largely framed as an environmental consideration is rapidly becoming a straightforward household economic decision for Pakistani commuters, particularly those operating larger, fuel-intensive vehicles that are now placing unprecedented strain on monthly budgets.
Syed Asif Ahmed, Director of Sales and Marketing at Chery Master Pakistan, laid out the cost comparison in concrete terms. A typical petrol-powered C-segment sport utility vehicle, at an assumed fuel economy of around 10 kilometres per litre, now costs roughly Rs32 per kilometre to run at current petrol rates. Even a conventional hybrid, which improves fuel efficiency to approximately 18 kilometres per litre, still costs around Rs18 per kilometre and remains exposed to the kind of petrol price volatility that has become a defining feature of Pakistan’s import-dependent energy situation. Ahmed noted that while a conventional hybrid reduces fuel dependence, it does not remove it, and the structural vulnerability to global oil price shocks persists. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and range-extender electric vehicles, by contrast, allow most daily urban driving to be completed on electricity rather than petrol. Using the Chery Tiggo 9 Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle as an example, which carries a 34.46 kilowatt-hour battery and offers a 170-kilometre electric range under the New European Driving Cycle, Ahmed calculated that a full charge at a household electricity tariff of Rs50 per unit costs approximately Rs1,723, bringing the running cost down to roughly Rs10 per kilometre, a saving of approximately Rs22 per kilometre compared to a petrol sport utility vehicle.
The economics become even more compelling for Pakistani households that have adopted rooftop solar, a segment that has expanded rapidly in recent years with cumulative installations reaching several gigawatts by 2025. For a household already generating its own power through net-metered solar panels, the cost of electrically powered daily commuting falls further still, creating a convergence between Pakistan’s energy transition and its emerging mobility transition. Ahmed connected the argument to the national macroeconomic picture, noting that Pakistan’s dependence on imported petroleum continues to pressure foreign exchange reserves and public finances whenever global oil markets experience volatility. The country’s own Fiscal Risk Statement has warned that a 20 percent global oil price shock could widen the fiscal deficit by Rs487 billion in financial year 2025-26 through reduced petroleum levy collection and higher subsidy requirements. Unlike full battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and range-extender electric vehicles do not require users to depend entirely on Pakistan’s still-developing charging infrastructure, making them a pragmatic middle ground for sport utility vehicle buyers who need the flexibility of occasional long-distance travel while wanting to eliminate the bulk of their daily petrol expenditure.
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