ISLAMABAD: The Steering Committee on Electric Vehicles (EV) plans to complete the finalization of the National Electric Vehicle (NEV) policy within a month.
As per newspaper report, the steering committee meeting was chaired by Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain and attended by Minister for Energy Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Secretary of Industries and Production Saif Anjum, along with senior officials from the relevant ministries and departments.
The policy aims to encourage local production and the quick use of electric vehicles (EVs), including new energy vehicles (NEVs), to create a sustainable transport system in the country.
Pakistan first locally manufactured electric car is set to hit the road in December.
Tanveer stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the Ministry of Industries and Production to organize periodic meetings and submit the final recommendations to the PM by the end of November.
He mentioned that the committee is committed to finalizing the policy within the next month and will reconvene next week to further deliberate on the subject.
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While chairing the meeting, the minister emphasized that the new policy should encourage energy efficiency and the transition to clean technologies in the automotive sector. During the meeting, all stakeholders presented their proposals.
The meeting was informed that the government is taking steps to reduce electricity tariffs for EV charging stations. Furthermore, the installation of 40 charging stations on motorways and in major cities has been completed in the first phase.
Meeting was informed that a total of 49 licenses have been granted to two- and three-wheeler EV manufacturers since 2022, with a capacity of four million vehicles per year, of which 25 are currently engaged in manufacturing.
The meeting was also told that right now, 45,000 two- and three-wheelers are running in Pakistan, making up only 0.16 percent of all vehicles, while there are 2,600 four-wheeler electric vehicles (EVs) in the country, which is just 0.06 percent of the total vehicles on the roads.
Similarly, the first license for four-wheeler EV manufacturing, with a capacity of 6,000 vehicles per year, was issued in September, and production is expected to commence by the end of 2024.
Committee on electric vehicles (EVs) has been set up by the Prime Minister to create a clear policy focused on encouraging local production and quick use of EVs, including new energy vehicles (NEVs), to build a sustainable transport system in Pakistan, improve energy use, and move towards clean technologies in the car industry. It includes:
(i) Federal Minister for Industries and Production
(ii) Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue
(iii) Federal Minister for Power
(iv) Federal Minister for Petroleum
(v) Coordinator to the Prime Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination
(vi) Governor, State Bank of Pakistan
(vii) Secretary, Ministry of Industries and Production
(viii) Chairman, Federal Board of Revenue
(ix) Chairman, Pakistan Banks Association
(x) any other co-opted member.
