EV shift lags amid infrastructure gaps
• PM’s 30pc target stalls as OMCs expand outlets without chargers • Petrol demand stays robust on two-wheeler boom KARACHI: The government is considering several options to reduce the fuel import bill, the latest being the upgrade of refineries at an estimated cost of $6 billion. Earlier efforts to reduce petrol imports by promoting compressed natural gas (CNG) in the automotive sector faltered…
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif aims to reduce the fuel import bill by gradually shifting to electric vehicles (EVs), a plan that faces infrastructure challenges. Despite calls for a 30% EV transition within five years, the initiative languishes due to insufficient charging stations and inadequate infrastructure. Oil marketing companies (OMCs), caught between expanding retail fuel outlets and limited investment in EV charging facilities, report robust retail growth but little progress on charging infrastructure.
Wafi Energy Pakistan Ltd added 38 new Shell retail sites and 18 Select stores, while also installing two EV recharge facilities and upgrading eight existing sites. The country's oil industry faces a dilemma: while petrol demand remains strong due to the dominance of two-wheeler usage, EV penetration is expected to be slow, potentially taking five to six years to replace petrol-fueled vehicles.
Despite rising petrol and diesel prices, consumers are gradually switching to electrified vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs), and pure battery EVs. The government is pushing OMCs to install EV chargers at fuel stations, but charging stations often take longer to install and require high-capacity transformers, increasing costs.
Hybrid vehicles are considered a more viable option than pure battery EVs under the current circumstances.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
