ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani company has joined hands with a Chinese firm to locally manufacture electric vehicles (EVs), the country’s energy minister Hammad Azhar said on Thursday, saying the development was the result of a government policy announced last December.
Azhar said the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf administration of Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted the country to move toward the “electrification of mass transit.”
“BYD, the largest global electric bus manufacturer ... [and] Sapphire group have joined hands ... [for] market development & manufacturing of electric vehicles in Pak[istan],” he wrote on Twitter.
The government announced a new electric vehicle policy on December 22, removing additional customs duty and sales tax on the import of such vehicles. It also allowed duty-free import of manufacturing plants and equipment for EVs and only imposed one percent tax on importing their spare parts.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam told the media after the policy announcement last December that the government would promote electric vehicles both in terms of adoption and manufacturing.
The government’s plan is at the heart of its effort to generate and utilize clean energy in the country. Last December, PM Khan said 60 percent of all energy produced in the country by 2030 would be clean and obtained through renewables, while speaking at a Climate Ambition Summit’s virtual meeting.
“By 2030, 60 percent of all energy produced in Pakistan will be clean energy through renewables,” Khan said. “30pc of all our vehicles will be [run] on electricity.”
