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Leading the charge on two wheels
🇵🇰 Pakistan /Economy & Trade

Leading the charge on two wheels

From Dawn · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Pakistan's two-wheeler market, selling around 2 million motorcycles annually, presents a significant opportunity for electric vehicles.
  • While electric bikes offer compelling lower operating costs (around 15% of conventional bikes), their higher upfront price remains a major barrier to adoption.
  • The market faces challenges including fragmentation, questionable quality from numerous manufacturers, and a lack of standardization, hindering widespread consumer acceptance.

Pakistan's automotive landscape is dominated by two-wheelers, with approximately two million motorcycles sold annually and a total fleet exceeding 30 million. This makes it a prime market for the transition to electric mobility, yet electric two-wheelers face significant hurdles in displacing their gasoline-powered counterparts.

Essentially, Pakistan is a two-wheeler market

— Faraz ZaidiChairman of Wasl Mobility Modaraba, describing the market landscape.

Faraz Zaidi, Chairman of Wasl Mobility Modaraba, highlights the economic advantages, noting that operating costs for electric bikes are now around 15% of conventional bikes, a substantial decrease from pre-war figures. This includes savings on petrol, engine oil, and filters. However, the initial purchase price remains a major obstacle. A conventional Honda CD 70 costs around Rs168,000, while a comparable electric bike can exceed Rs300,000, requiring consumers to invest significantly more upfront for future savings.

The economics of switching to electric are compelling.

— Faraz ZaidiHighlighting the cost benefits of electric bikes.

Zaidi estimates that the additional investment in an electric bike can be recouped through fuel savings in about 1.5 years, depending on mileage. Despite these long-term benefits, adoption rates are low, with fewer than 200,000 electric bikes sold last year out of the 2 million total, representing less than a 10% adoption rate.

The consumer therefore has to spend considerably more today to save on running costs later.

— Faraz ZaidiExplaining the upfront cost barrier for electric bikes.

Ammar Habib Khan, CEO of National Credit Guarantee Company Limited, points to market fragmentation as a key issue. With around 40 manufacturers producing electric two-wheelers, the market lacks a dominant brand to build consumer confidence, unlike the global success of Chinese car manufacturers like BYD. The absence of standardization, particularly in batteries which constitute 40-45% of an electric bike's cost, further complicates the market and contributes to range anxiety due to varying battery and motor capacities.

One reason demand remains weak is that the market is too fragmented

— Ammar Habib KhanCEO of National Credit Guarantee Company Limited, identifying a challenge in the EV market.
About this summary

Originally published by Dawn. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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