Situationer: Is Pakistan ready for ‘the charge’?

THE Middle East war has reshaped conditions in Pakistan's automotive market. With petrol and diesel both at over Rs400 per litre — up from Rs 258.17 and Rs 275.70 before the conflict — consumers have been forced to consider shifting to electrified vehicles. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for a 30 per cent shift to electric vehicles within five years, a target his government says would reduce the fuel import bill by $4.5 billion annually. But questions about how that target is to be achieved, and at whose expense, are still to be answered in their entirety. Stakeholders across the automotive and energy sectors hold differing views on which technologies to prioritise, how to protect the domestic industry, and what role the state should play in building charging infrastructure. For electric vehicle manufacturers already operating in Pakistan, the most frequently cited concern is not physical infrastructure but policy continuity. From battery-only cars to petrol-assisted hybrids, a debate over technology, tax policy and local manufacturing is complicating the country's push toward electrification Danish Khaliq, Vice President of Sales and Strategy at BYD Pakistan-Mega Motor Company, says the government's EV ambitions require a stable, long-term regulatory environment to translate into investment. “Consumer interest in modern vehicles, particularly NEVs, is clearly growing, which is encouraging and aligns well with the government's direction. However, unlocking this vision at scale requires a stable and predictable policy environment,” he says. The current AIDEP 2021–2026 policy, nearing completion, enabled companies including BYD Pakistan to commit to local manufacturing facilities. Khaliq cautions that changes without a clear transition framework could force investors to revisit financial assumptions. "What the industry requires is a long-term policy horizon of around eight to ten years, which allows OEMs to scale production, introduce advanced technologies,