Pakistan expects to reach its electric-vehicle adoption target ahead of schedule as surging oil prices make switching away from gasoline-powered cars increasingly attractive, according to a senior government official.
“People are realizing the benefit now. Still, even a modest shift could have wider economic benefits. The South Asian nation is also preparing a new auto policy that could be presented to the cabinet within the next two weeks.
Higher oil prices can therefore worsen the trade deficit and add pressure on the currency and inflation. The government aims for EVs to account for 30 per cent of new vehicle sales by 2030 under a policy announced last year. Since the Middle East war started in February, petrol and diesel prices have jumped 54 per cent and 43 per cent respectively, according to data available on Pakistan State Oil Company Ltd. Petroleum accounted for almost a quarter of Pakistan’s total imports, at $16.9 billion in the year through June 2026, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The jump in fuel costs since the Middle East conflict has shortened the time it takes for buyers to recoup the higher upfront cost of an EV, said Haroon Akhtar, adviser to the prime minister on industries and production. “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,” adviser to Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar told Bloomberg in Islamabad. You don’t have to pay for petrol,” he said. The government is considering tax incentives for EVs to narrow their price gap with conventional vehicles, Akhtar said. The draft is now with Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, who will incorporate the latest recommendations, according to Akhtar.
The policy has been under discussion since earlier this year but was delayed by negotiations over tariffs and export requirements.
