Hopes and Hurdles: Momentum Builds for Electric Vehicles in Pakistan
The 2nd Electric Vehicles (EV) Conference held in Lahore on Saturday brought together industry leaders, policymakers, financiers, and climate advocates to accelerate discussions around Pakistan’s EV landscape, highlighting the sector’s promise and challenges.
Organized by the Climate Action Centre (CAC) and PakEVO, and sponsored by Bank of Punjab, the conference marked an important step in aligning public and private efforts to foster EV adoption and localization in the country. Umer Khan, Head Investment Banking, FI & Corporate Banking Central at Bank of Punjab in his keynote expressed confidence about the prospects of EV and allied infrastructure in Pakistan.
“Consistent with experience in several countries of the world, the big push and impetus on EV adoption and conversion would come with tangible government support in the form of subsidies and tax credits,” he said. “Further, there are significant pools of liquidity and credit enhancements available for climate finance and EV projects, which need to be accessed with the right pitch to international DFIs,” he added.
In his keynote, Dr. Aazir Khan introduced PakKEVO, a newly launched initiative aimed at promoting EV-related education, collaboration, and policy reform. He underlined the missed opportunities of past years when Pakistan’s economic situation prevented budget allocations to key EV initiatives.
“We must ensure that fiscal priorities align with sustainable energy goals, especially when climate resilience and green infrastructure are no longer optional,” Dr. Aazir emphasized.
The discussions revealed that while global EV sales grew by nearly 40% between 2023 and 2024, Pakistan’s market penetration remains dismally low. Yet the mood remained cautiously optimistic as several developments signaled momentum. Among them was Daewoo’s ambitious plan to replace diesel buses with EVs on shorter intercity routes such as between cities close to Lahore such as Sialkot.
“Our goal is that within the next two years, we will convert our entire short-route fleet to electric,” Sheriar Hassan from Daewoo said during the first panel, adding that financing collaborations with BOP are already underway.
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