Master Changan Motors Limited (MCML) is gearing up to unveil its inaugural line of pure electric vehicles under the brand name Deepal (S07 SUV and L07 Sedan) in Pakistan in the forthcoming months, Business Recorder reported on Monday.
While the company neither confirmed nor denied this revelation, a high-ranking official, while keeping the model undisclosed, affirmed the company’s intention to venture into the electric vehicle market.
Aligned with the Vast Ocean Plan, Changan, MCML’s parent company, has introduced three distinct EV brands catering to diverse customer segments – Avatr, Deepal, and Nevo.
Syed Shabbiruddin, the Director of Sales and Marketing at MCML, informed Business Recorder that the company is set to introduce one of these pure electric vehicle brands in Pakistan shortly.
Insider information suggests that MCML is in the advanced stages of launching the Deepal S07, a mid-size crossover SUV, and the Deepal L07, a fast-back sports sedan, manufactured by Deepal, Changan’s electric vehicle subsidiary, since 2023.
Changan collaborated with Huawei and CATL to develop its EV-first platform and recently introduced the Deepal L07 sedan and Deepal S07 SUV in Thailand, which, like Pakistan, is a right-hand drive market.
Shabbiruddin expressed optimism about the potential growth of EVs, stating, “The potential for EV growth is enormous, often underestimated by experts in the auto industry today.”
He emphasized three pivotal factors: the burgeoning need for cars among the young, expanding population, an estimated additional demand of 360,000 vehicles by 2030, and the decreasing cost of EV batteries, projected to fall below $99/kWh by 2027, leading to a global surge in consumer-driven adoption of EVs.
However, Shabbiruddin also highlighted challenges confronting EVs in Pakistan, such as the classification of EVs based on battery capacity under the auto policy, incentivizing only those with battery capacities below 50 kWh, and the regulation of selling prices at charging stations, resulting in low gross margins and rendering investments in charging infrastructure economically unviable.
