Pakistan bets on electric vehicles as Middle East war sends petrol prices soaring 54%

Pakistan expects to achieve its electric-vehicle adoption target ahead of schedule as surging oil prices make the shift away from petrol-powered vehicles increasingly attractive, a senior government official said.The government aims for electric vehicles to account for 30% of new vehicle sales by 2030 under its EV policy announced last year. Haroon Akhtar, adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on industries and production, said the sharp rise in fuel prices has reduced the time needed for buyers to recover the higher upfront cost of EVs.“I feel that the target we had set in our electric-vehicle policy last year, we will achieve it much earlier as rise in oil prices has brought cost recovery of EV to one to one and a half year,” Akhtar told Bloomberg in Islamabad.“People are realizing the benefit now. You don't have to pay for petrol,” he said.Petrol and diesel prices in Pakistan have risen 54% and 43%, respectively, since the Middle East conflict began in February, according to data available from Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd.EV sales accelerate amid fuel price pressureAkhtar said sales of electric motorcycles and scooters have tripled from a year earlier, while electric-car sales have doubled, although industry-wide EV sales data is not publicly available.“This is an impact of the Middle East conflict, as fuel prices have gone up,” Akhtar said.Despite the growing incentive to switch to EVs, factors including high vehicle costs and limited charging infrastructure mean a large-scale transformation of Pakistan’s vehicle fleet and oil consumption will take years.The government is also preparing a new auto policy that could be presented to the cabinet within the next two weeks. It is considering tax incentives for EVs to narrow the price gap between electric and conventional vehicles, Akhtar said.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.