KARACHI, 19 April 2005 — Pakistan yesterday launched its first locally designed car and joined an elite group of 16 countries to achieve the feat. A large number of car lovers, dignitaries and the officials of the manufacturing company attended the launching ceremony.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz presided over the launch ceremony of the new economy car, designed and assembled in Pakistan but powered by a Chinese-made engine.

“This is a red-letter day in the history of our manufacturing sector,” Aziz said at the roll-out ceremony of the 800 cc Revo, designed and assembled by Karachi-based Adam Motors.

“With this, Pakistan has joined the club of 16 countries having the capability of designing an original car,” he said.

The 800 cc Revo is being assembled at a plant in Karachi owned by Adam Motors. The company plans to make 5,000 of them a year. The engines will be built by China’s Wuling Engineering Company.

“We are getting the technology from China and we will soon start building the engines also,” Adam’s Chief Executive Officer Feroz Khan said. “It will be fully indigenous in a couple of years.”

The four-door car will cost about 300,000 rupees ($5,000). The first models are expected to go on sale in June, he said.

The same category of Japanese cars that currently dominate the country’s roads cost 315,000 rupees, the company said.

Speaking at the Karachi plant, Aziz said Pakistan is expected to produce 141,000 cars this year compared to only 30,000 a couple of years ago.

When asked how he felt driving the newly launched vehicle, Aziz remarked that “it was a very good experience and was easy to drive.”

He said people in Pakistan needed reasonably priced and fuel-efficient transport. The Revo can also be fitted with CNG equipment. “The newly launched vehicle has all the plus points that the people look for,” Aziz added.

Sindh Governor Ishrat-ul- Ebad Khan also test-drove the newly launched car with Chief Minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim sitting next to him.