EVs taget—– 30 per cent by 2030
ISLAMABAD : The government is planning to expand Electric Vehicles (EVs) to 30 per cent by 2030 for four wheelers from current 2 per cent as currently total reliance is on import, mostly from China.
” We have shared our plans to the Prime Minister, according to which we are planning to increase the share of four wheelers by 30 per cent and 50 per cent for thee/ two wheelers by 2030,” said sources in EDB, which is never performed upto the expectations.
Currently, 500 charging points are available nation wide as local production of EVs is limited.
EDB, sources said, has sought incentives to attractive investment in EV manufacturing including import duty exemptions and development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Import duty exemptions apparently, will not be available due to new program of International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The government is expected to constituted a Steering Committee comprising Minister for Industries and Production, Minister for Finance, Secretaries of respective Ministries, Governor State Bank of Pakistan to negotiate with banks to arrive at most advantageous financial structure for the scheme.
The proposed next steps and deadlines are as follows ;(i) finalization of financing structure with commercial banks and insurance companies by last week of September ;(ii) consultation with provinces for waiver of registration and token fee etc. and support in upscaling by last week of September ;(iii) approval of financing structure by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and Federal Cabinet by first week of October 2024;(iv) shortlisting of EV manufacturers through open advertisement by first week of November 2024;(v) development of IT portal by second week of November 2024 ;(vi) invitation of applications through open advertisement by second week of November ;(vii) E-balloting ( including waiting list) by second week of December 2024;(viii) desk scrutiny and physical verification of successful candidates by banks by second week of January 2025 ;(ix) selection of DV by successful candidate by third week of January 2025; and (x) deposit of dues if any and handing over of EV by last week of January 2025.
EDB has proposed New Energy Vehicle (NEVs) Fund, to be arranged through seed funding the GoP and proceeds from levy imposed on conventional vehicles.
Concessional credit for buyers, investment credits, awareness campaign, reduction in cost, Production Linked Incentive (PLI), technology transfer, charging infrastructure, shared testing facilities and National Centre for new energy vehicles are also part of the proposed policy.
The proposed immediate measures to enhance market penetration are as follows : (i) standards and regulations by NEECA, preferential tariff by NEPRA, facilitation by DISCOs;(ii) first priority should be Motorways, GT Road, N-65 and N-70 ;(iii) OMCs may be encouraged to use their CSR for this purpose ;(iv) start up battery swapping banks for three wheelers in major cities ;(v) transition to EVs in government procurement especially two wheelers;(vi) demand incentivizing- Punjab Government recently initiated scheme for subsidizing EVs ; and (vii) reconsidering incentive structure to promote local manufacture and early adaption.
The government will also announce financing structure, according to which loans will be extended for two, three or four vehicles to promote EVs in the country to be paid back in monthly installments.
EDB has granted 49 licences have been granted to two/three wheeler EV manufacturers since 2022 [capacity 4 m vehicles per year], currently 25 are engaged in manufacturing. Similarly first license for four wheeler EV manufacturing [capacity 6,000 vehicles per year] was issued in September, likely to commence production by end this year.Present two-three wheeler and four wheeler EV population is 45K [0.16% of total] and 2.6K [0.06% of total] respectively. Ends
