A Karachi based company Crown Group has introduced its own range of electric vehicles in Pakistan.
Crown Group has been making auto parts since 1963. It is a new player in the market of electric vehicles and has invested Rs2 billion to set up its manufacturing plant.
It displayed a number of environmentally friendly vehicles, including motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, cars and ambulances, which are energy efficient.
The starting price for an electric car, a pilot project, is Rs 400,000. It’s a two-door hatchback with a seating capacity of two persons. The prices of the rickshaws and motorcycles are between Rs200,000 and Rs55,000 respectively.
Officials of Crown Group said in a statement that its vehicles cost will b Rs 1.25 for each kilometer traveled, which “makes it the cheapest” option available for transport in Pakistan.
Chairperson of the Crown Group Farhan Hanif said that the two and three wheeler automobiles can travel 60km to 70km on a full charge. A car fully charged on a 50-amp battery which can travel up to 50kms.
He added that eight Chinese companies have partnered with the Crown Group in joint ventures so the company is ready to expand production as soon as the government implements its electric vehicle policy.
A draft of the policy is waiting for the approval from government. If the government keeps its word on the electric vehicle policy, the custom duty on imports of auto-parts will only be 1% while the sales tax will not exceed 5%.
He emphasised that the advent of electric vehicles will help boost Pakistan’s economy and introduce new jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities as specific power stations to charge the vehicles will have to be established.