Lucky Motors partners with China’s GAC as it bets fuel shock will drive EV switch

KARACHI: Lucky Motors is betting fuel-price shocks and rooftop solar adoption will speed up electric vehicle demand, as it launches EVs with Chinese state-owned automaker GAC and plans local assembly as early as the year-end, its CEO told Reuters.

The launch comes as Pakistani consumers face their sharpest fuel price increases in years, with prices double those of four years ago, as the US-Iran conflict disrupts supply through the Strait of Hormuz.

READ ALSO: Lucky Motor signs EV deal with China’s GAC to enter Pakistan auto market

“Every crisis has an opportunity. This crisis has actually helped Pakistani consumers transition fast from conventional fuel vehicles to new energy vehicles,” said Muhammad Faisal, CEO of Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC), known as Lucky Motors.

Under an agreement with Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC), Lucky Motors began displaying four Aion and Hyptec models from GAC across Pakistan this week and plans to begin local manufacturing of its partner’s EVs as soon as December 2026, he said.

GAC is Lucky Motors’ third automotive brand after Kia and Peugeot, which are both assembled at its Karachi plant. It is a subsidiary of Lucky Cement, one of Pakistan’s largest conglomerates.

Faisal said he expected the initial imported stock of GAC cars, which he described only as a “sizeable order”, to sell out within two months.

EVs remain a small fraction of Pakistan’s annual car sales, dominated by Japanese and Korean brands.

The shift has been faster in two-wheelers, where EV sales nearly tripled to around 5 percent of all bikes sold, according to consultancy Renewables First.

Faisal said Pakistan’s solar revolution was accelerating the case for four-wheelers. Solar now supplies around a quarter of the country’s electricity, making home overnight charging viable for the urban buyers Lucky Motors is targeting.