There are currently no commercially accessible electric motorcycles or automobiles in Pakistan. A small percentage of Pakistan’s light-duty passenger vehicles are hybrids, according to a recent research. But the government has pledged, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, that by 2030, 30% of all new automobile sales in Pakistan would be Electric Vehicles (EVs) powered by renewable energy, and that by 2040, 90% of all new car sales will be EVs.
In 2019, Pakistan drafted its first “National Electric Vehicles Policy” (NEVP), which set these targets as ideals. These associations include the Pakistan Automotive Manufacturing Association (PAMA) and the Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts & Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM), with the Ministry of Climate Change serving as the policy’s driving force.
In 2021-22, the Engineering Development Board estimated that Pakistanese factories produced 322,754 cars/SUVs and about 2,169,751 motorcycles.
Motorcycles powered by petroleum are extremely popular in Pakistan. Motorcycles account for 61% of all vehicles on the road. The 70 cc motorcycles are widely used in Pakistan due to their low cost and low fuel consumption. In India, you can expect to pay between 258 and 452 rupees for a motorcycle with a 70-cc engine. The transportation industry also accounts for 57% of total oil consumption.
In 2022, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), there were 32 million cars registered and 34 million on the road. The number of EVs and motorcycles makes up only about 8% of the total. There is currently a lack of information about the importation of Electric Vehicles.
Even if people in Pakistan chose to make the conversion to EVs, the country’s poor renewable energy infrastructure would make it tough. Policy backing, advancements in battery technology, expanded charging infrastructure, and exciting new models from manufacturers are all necessary to drive EV adoption.
The growing growth of cities means that the introduction of pollution-free automobiles must be a top governmental priority. With the goal of producing 500,000 electric bikes and rickshaws by 2025, the government has implemented tax concessions, lowering the sales tax on domestically produced EVs from 17% to near zero, and tariffs on EV parts to roughly 1%.
Increasing investment in clean energy shows how seriously people take the threat of climate change. However, the expansion of renewable energy is driven by government policy assistance.
Pakistan has committed to phasing out coal imports while increasing domestic electricity generation from renewable sources like hydropower to 60%. The expansion of renewable energy to 3.02% of our energy mix from 2.4% in FY2020 to 3.02% in FY2022 is encouraging.
Only about 16% of Pakistan’s potential hydropower producing capacity has been utilized. This amounts to roughly 60,000MW. However, wind power accounts for 4.8% of the energy mix and has a potential of 1,985 MW.
In a similar vein, Pakistan’s tropical location makes it an ideal candidate for solar power generation. However, it only uses solar power to the tune of 600MW, or 1.4% of its entire installed capacity.
With a total of 305.8 MW of distributed solar power, Pakistan has activated 17,950 net-metering licensed systems. The EIU predicts that the installed solar capacity will be lower than the draft 2022-31 IGCEP projection of 8.4 GW, and the reasons given are policy and procedure.
In FY2022, nuclear power will account for 8.8 percent of all energy production. The share of nuclear energy will increase to 2200MW once the Kanupp-3 (K3) power plant is operational (it will be inaugurated by the prime minister on February 2, 2022).
Despite a drop from 62.5% in FY2021 to 60.9% in FY2022, thermal still accounts for the majority of the country’s electricity generation.
Potentials for renewable energy are vast. As their prices continue to drop, renewable energy technologies are becoming increasingly competitive for application in commercial and residential settings. Renewable energy is expected to continue its rapid expansion in the future years as new, more cost-effective technologies become available.
The Alternative and Renewable Energy Policy was established this year to aid and encourage the growth of renewable energy sources across the country. The primary goal of the program was to provide favorable conditions for renewable power projects and boost the proportion of green energy capacity.
Ten CPEC energy-generation projects were operational as of October 2022, with another five in various stages of planning and development. There are a lot of unknowns with these projects as debt-related risks in Pakistan continue to rise.
The renewable energy industry is underfunded because of regulatory roadblocks and supply chain issues. Hydropower is susceptible to natural calamities and has high import limitations for equipment used in solar installations.
This industry is extremely important to the maintenance of the “all-weather” alliance because Chinese companies would fund and help construct hydroelectric dams and other renewables installations in Pakistan, including a new nuclear reactor.
The revolving debt problem in the energy supply chain could get worse if economic growth this year is slower than expected. To make use of this industry, the government should develop a suitable strategy.