Pakistan to introduce new EV int'l safety standards for transport vehicles, Science minister

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry Friday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government was implementing on a plan to convert public transport into electric vehicles and we would soon introduced an international standards on emissions and safety measures for transport vehicles.

Talking to a Private news channel, he said Pakistan has approved an ambitious National Electric Vehicles Policy with targets and incentives aimed at seeing electric vehicles capture 30% of all the passenger vehicle and electric charging stations on solar-based technology would also be encouraged, besides use of 500 to 1000 km batteries.

The minister maintained that the Electric vehicle policy is crucial for urban cities like Lahore and Karachi, as over 35% of air pollution in these cities is caused by emission of smoke from vehicles.

He credited Prime Minister Imran Khan for his special attention in the sci-tech sector, saying that the government has brought back the country to research and development with the support of the premier.

Replying a Query, minister said car prices in Pakistan will be reduced in the coming days which have increased immensely over the past few years.

However, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved the Electric Vehicle Policy which will end the monopoly of car manufacturers in the country, he mentioned.

“It is previous regimes failure for not manufacturing engines, but we will make up solar panels and lithium batteries soon where the energy system of the country will be completely changed", he added.

He said government has embarked upon a transformational programme of implementing international standards of emission and safety measures in the transport vehicles, adding, government is moving on the path of a long-term regulatory road map for the automobile industry to grow and increase its contribution to GDP.

He said automotive industry has kept pace with these changes and in recent years has undergone a number of changes in the domain of passenger safety, emission control and connected to latest technology.

Replying a Question, he assured that this EV technology will reduce carbon in the air and will bring positive change to the Eco-system.

He said we believe in making urban commute more efficient, while reducing traffic volume, adding, EV technology would also gives cheaper and affordable mass transit in country.