PAKISTAN’S automobile manufacturers’ body has raised serious concerns over the country’s new New Energy Vehicle (NEV) policy, requesting the government to bring amends to protect the local auto industry.
Writing to the Engineering Development Board (EDB) Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) cautioned that the new policy could result in rampant import of CBU (complete built-up) vehicles, hurting the domestic original equipment manufacturers and undermining the interests of local auto-part suppliers, Pakistan’s The News International reported.
The EDB an apex government body under Pakistan’s Ministry of Industries & Production which looks to make the engineering base in the country stronger.
PAMA’s Director General Abdul Waheed Khan said some of the policy’s provisions, especially the lower duty and sales tax on CBU imports, would lead to a non-level-playing field for indigenous makers. According to him, the policy would slash the market share of domestic producers and disincentivize investments in the local automobile market in future, eventually defeating the objective that successive auto policies have tried to achieve since 2008, the report added.
“The introduction of these provisions would significantly slow down investment in the local auto sector, frustrating the goals of AIDEP 2021-26, which aims to promote a balanced tariff structure for various vehicle types,” Khan wrote in the letter to EDB, The News International report added.
PAMA gave some suggestions, including banning the import of used cars, with an exemption for overseas Pakistanis buying locally made cars. It also said that the NEV policy should exclusively emphasize on Electric and Fuel Cell Vehicles with Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles remaining under the current Auto Industry Development and Export Policy, the newspaper report added.
Pakistan unveils NEV policy
Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain, recently unveiled the NEV policy which aims to see 30 per cent of the country’s vehicles transitioning to electric power by 2030. At a press conference, he said all stakeholders were taken into confidence in the policy-making decision.
The policy includes a subsidy of PKR 50,000 (180$) for electric motorcycles and PKR 200,000 ($719) for three-wheelers (rickshaws), with a total allocation of PKR 4 billion ($14.3 million).
The government also has planned to set up a robust EV infrastructure in the country, identifying 40 sites along the Peshawar-Karachi Motorway to establish charging stations, with a target of installing 3,000 stations in another six years.
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