ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel was informed that the new auto policy 2025-30 has not yet been finalised, and the Ministry of Industry and Production is set to forward the draft policy to the Ministry of Finance, which would share it with the IMF for review.
This was stated by the officials of the Ministry of Industry and Production during a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production, which met here on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Saleem Mandwiwala. The meeting discussed and reviewed national industrial policy, electric vehicle production, and administrative security measures at Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) Karachi.
The committee expressed concerns over the delay in the approval of the auto policy as the automobile sector is facing challenges due to the delay in its approval.
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Officials of the Engineering Development Board (EDB) informed the panel that local production of electric two-and three-wheelers has tripled. According to EDB, Pakistan produced 210,268 electric two- and three-wheelers in fiscal year 2025–26, up from 59,756 a year earlier. Production has risen steadily from 7,345 units in 2021–22, 14,995 in 2022–23 and 21,551 in 2023–24, the EDB data showed.
However, the committee members raised serious questions regarding the lack of infrastructure and skilled workforce to support the country’s wider shift to electric vehicles.
Pakistan’s New Energy Vehicle (NEV) Policy 2025–30 aims for new energy vehicles, including electric and hybrid models, to account for 30 percent of new vehicle sales by 2030. It also sets a target of 2.223 million such vehicles by that year. The government says the transition could cut carbon emissions by 4.5 million tonnes and save around 2.07 billion litres of fuel annually, equivalent to nearly USD 1 billion in foreign exchange.
According to the Ministry of Industries and Production, currently, more than 85 companies have licenses to assemble or manufacture electric two- and three-wheelers in Pakistan, with cumulative local production capacity of electric motorcycles exceeding 290,000 units.
Senator Anusha Rehman, raising a question about the lack of necessary EV infrastructure, said, “Globally, infrastructure is developed first, and then vehicles are manufactured. In Pakistan, we are doing the opposite.” Senator Rehman said only one station at Bhera on the Islamabad-Lahore motorway had been confirmed as operational.
Emphasising future human capital development, Senator Anusha Rahman called for regulatory authorities to play an active role in policy formulation, suggesting that Pakistan adopt international practices such as China’s integration of vocational training centres with EV manufacturing units. The committee stressed that industrial regulators must require manufacturers to establish proper training infrastructure and update curricula with organisations like NAVTTC before commercial licensing.
The committee recommended sending an Auto Industry Development and Export Policy team to inspect vocational training facilities in China and suggested incorporating local industrial input into policy adjustments to drive sustainable technology transfer and domestic manufacturing.
EDB official said the government aimed to establish at least 3,000 charging stations nationwide and had negotiated a discounted electricity tariff of 40 rupees per unit for charging facilities. Around 18 installations were under way, while 40 locations along the motorway network between Peshawar and Karachi had been identified for charging infrastructure, he said.
However, the EDB failed to give a definitive count of operational public charging points in the country.
The tariff framework includes custom duties of 15 percent for non-localised completely knocked down kits, 46 percent for localised kits, and one percent for specific EV components. Specific incentives include a one percent custom duty on key EV components such as batteries, motors, converters, and chargers until June 30, 2027, alongside a one percent sales tax on locally assembled two- and three-wheelers and a sales tax waiver on imported two- and three-wheeler EVs.
Deliberating on the sub-committee’s compliance report regarding Pakistan Steel Mills, Senator Khalida Ateeb highlighted that previous sub-committee meetings held on September 7 and 22, 2026, had generated eleven specific recommendations to address theft, operational vulnerabilities, and administrative concerns at the plant.
The committee reviewed the compliance status, noting that following the withdrawal of Defence Security Force personnel, Pakistan Steel Mills initiated a formal tendering process to hire a private security firm for 120 security guards to safeguard PSM land, plant, machinery, and stores after a proposal for an integral security force was not approved by the Ministry of Industries and Production.
The tender, advertised on September 29, 2026, and opened on October 19, 2026, is currently in its final evaluation stage. Addressing broader governance issues, the committee noted that criminal cases are being pursued against individuals involved in theft, while directing that comprehensive implementation reports on all eleven sub-committee directives be presented at the next meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026