By Muhammad Mudassar ISLAMABAD, Feb. 02 (INP-WealthPK) Pakistan is in the early phase of electric vehicle adoption. Waleed Amir, Director of Tesla Industries Pakistan, told WealthPK, Tesla has installed around 10 ultra-fast electric vehicle chargers in different cities of Pakistan. Tesla Industries is Pakistan’s first company that is manufacturing and assembling electric vehicles and ultra-fast chargers. The charging price is almost 60 to 70 rupees per unit (as per grid station price). A normal vehicle with a 60-kilowatt battery takes 40 minutes to charge with 40 units that can travel 200-400 kilometers. Recently, Tesla Industries and Sitara Engineers launched the first electric vehicle in Pakistan. Globally, the automobile sector is transforming from fossil fuel to efficient and greener technologies. According to the New York-based UBS Investment Bank, globally 20 percent of all-new cars will be electric by 2025. Electric vehicles are cost-efficient and environment-friendly and they minimize the burden of fossil fuels and control pollution in cities. Fossil fuel is a big source of greenhouse gases emission. Almost 46 percent GHGs (greenhouse gases) escape into the atmosphere due to the reckless use of fossil fuel followed by agriculture at 43 percent. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan spent almost 18.7 billion USD on oil imports in the fiscal year 2022. Electric vehicles are very expensive than the conventional ones in Pakistan but their maintenance and fuel cost is lower than the conventional ones. Moreover, their environmental benefits are very high. There are currently more than 2,000 electric vehicles in Pakistan and all of them have been imported from different countries. Almost all imported electric vehicles are manufactured by two companies – MG and Audi. Pakistan introduced its Electric Vehicle Policy 2020-25 in 2020 and the share of electric vehicles is forecast to be 30 percent and 90 percent in 2030 and 2040 respectively. According to the policy, there is 1 percent customs duty and 0 percent taxes (sale tax, income tax) on the import of types of equipment and machinery of electric vehicles. The electric vehicle owners pay only 50 percent toll tax. Pakistani company Jolta Electric manufactures E-bikes. Different Jolta electric bikes have different speed specifications from 10 to 60 kilometers per hour and can cover a distance from 60 to 100 km after a full charge. According to Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, China’s leading electric vehicle producer BYD is coming to Pakistan to manufacture and assemble electric vehicles. Sapphire Group is also joining the BYD. The arrival of these groups is a good sign for the electric vehicle industry of Pakistan. In spite of these encouraging developments, promising a wealth of job opportunities, this sector faces a host of challenges, which hinder sales, unlike conventional vehicles. One of the factors is the high price in the absence of a manufacturing and assembling plant in Pakistan. Unavailability of maintenance points and spare parts is another factor that discourages the buyers to abandon conventional vehicles and switch over to electric ones. Another factor contributing equally to the low sales is a lack of awareness of the people in the absence of a robust media campaign at the state level for promotion of e-vehicles. The government should set up a special zone and subsidize e-vehicles like in China because the price is the most important element in the purchase of a vehicle. To encourage investment in this sector for the installation of manufacturing plants, the government should give interest-free loans to investors. The policymakers can also get help from China, which is forecast to be the world leader in terms of electric vehicle production over the next few years. Pakistan is already at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution.