Pakistan unveils auto policy to cut car prices and drive EV adoption

Pakistan rolled out a new automobile policy on Saturday, promising cheaper cars, a bigger electric-vehicle push and a serious run at exports. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan unveiled the plan at a news conference alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The policy stands on six pillars: affordable vehicles for the middle and lower-middle classes, export promotion, electric vehicles, localisation, vehicle safety and transparency. Import duties have been trimmed to bring down manufacturing costs — a move Khan said should trickle straight to buyers. He told reporters that prices of all vehicles except luxury models will fall, with car costs and automakers' production bills both heading down.

Vehicles under 1,300 cc are getting special attention, Khan said, describing cheaper small cars as a personal priority for the prime minister. Localisation and auto exports are also in the crosshairs, with Islamabad setting a target of $6 billion in automobile exports over the next five years.

Tarar pitched the policy as a boost for domestic manufacturing and exports while keeping vehicles affordable, quality and environment-friendly. He pointed to the growing sight of girls and women riding electric scooters to schools, colleges and offices, and said electric motorcycles and scooters are spreading fast.

Switching to electric transport would also shrink Pakistan's oil import bill — a burden, Tarar said, that lands hardest on the poor. He called the policy comprehensive, noting it hands special incentives to electric vehicles while stressing that local manufacturing stays front and centre.

For Pakistan's auto industry to truly cash in, Tarar argued, vehicles have to be built for export and jobs have to follow. That's the bet the government is now making.