57 companies granted licenses to manufacture electric vehicles in Pakistan

Pakistan has granted licenses to 57 manufacturers of electric vehicles (EVs), it emerged on Tuesday.

In 2019, the Pakistani government approved the National Electric Vehicles Policy (NEVP) aiming for electric vehicles to account for 30% of all passenger and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030, and 90% by 2040.

The government is focusing on boosting local EV production, with 55 licenses granted for two- and three-wheelers, and two for four-wheeler assembly. Plans for charging stations, including fast chargers and battery swapping, are under consideration.

Also read: Pakistan to get soft loan, oil deferral facility from Saudi Arabia totaling $1.61 billion

Consumers will benefit from free registration, exemptions from annual token fees, and toll tax relief. The policy also envisions creating at least one electric vehicle zone in each province, including Islamabad.

However, a Senate Standing Committee recently criticized the slow pace of EV production, with only 60,000 units produced against the target of 600,000.

Earlier, the federal government said it would cut the power tariff for operators of EV charging stations by 45 percent as part of the ongoing reform of the energy sector designed to boost demand.