ISLAMABAD, Dec. 17 (INP):  Pak-China cooperation in Electric Vehicles (EVs) is quite promising as it is beneficial for both the countries, according to a report published by Gwadar Pro.

Pakistan's Daewoo Express and China's Skywell Automobile have signed a Strategic Alliance Agreement, under which Skywell Automobile will provide its state-of-the-art electric buses for the Pakistani market in Phase-1, and in Phase 2, shall set up a manufacturing plant to produce EVs in Pakistan. The report says, given the high cost of importing EVs, it's necessary and mutually beneficial to establish local manufacturing plants in Pakistan. Pakistan needs the same kind of manufacturing lines in Pakistan. It will be cheaper to manufacture in Pakistan as the labor cost is lower in Pakistan. And we can have an abundance of the workforce to work in these factories. Aside from the indicated above, joint marking and government policy are also of great significance at the starting phase of EVs development. In retrospect, at the starting point of China's EVs, around 10 years ago, the Chinese government provided a lot of financial support policies. "If a customer buys one EV, the government will provide subsidy from around RMB10,000 to 50,000, that means a lot," Wang mentioned. It is worth mentioning that in April this year, the Chinese government also extended monetary incentives that were about to expire and prolonged the purchase-tax exemptions of new energy vehicles (NEVs) through 2022. At last, to tap the potential for cooperation, the differences in weather conditions and driving habits between the two countries also need to be taken into consideration. But despite the differences, "I think the future is bright," said Wang Shida, Associate Research Professor at China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

Since the first electric vehicle charging station was set up and made functional in Islamabad in July this year, the shortage of charging piles remains a major problem in advancing the usage of EVs.

Wang Shida further saidt, the charging pile, in fact, is an issue not only in Pakistan but even in China, which has been developing electric vehicles for several years, given insufficient installation of private charging piles as well as poor user experience for public ones. "Chinese charging companies are already using big data technology to resolve this issue. Because big data technology and analysis can provide very specific data. Using this we can know where to install charging piles and how many. So for doing that maybe big data technology is a way out," said Wang. Besides, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Industries and Production in November expressed concerns over the higher prices of vehicles in the country. Under some circumstances, the EVs do cost more than the traditional ones, especially when they are imported instead of being locally produced. However, in terms of manufacturing and maintenance cost, some experts hold optimism. "If you look at the manufacturing, then I don't think EV's price is higher than that of the gasoline cars as more parts are used in gasoline engine than electric engine. Besides, after-sales services or maintenance for EVs is also lower in cost," said Sameer Siadiqui, Incident Manager (APAC) at ABB Global. Pakistan has informed the international community that it's working on a plan to ensure that by 2030 at least 30 percent of the vehicles used in the country are electronic, at a meeting of the 32-member UN Group of Friends on Sustainable Energy for All earlier this month.

INP/javed