Electric vehicle shift lags amid infrastructure gaps

Dawn reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's goal of moving 30 per cent of vehicles to electric power within five years is advancing slowly. The main obstacles are thin charging infrastructure and oil marketing companies that keep adding fuel outlets while investing little in chargers. Rising fuel prices after the Middle East crisis are, however, nudging consumers toward hybrid and electric models.

Wafi Energy Pakistan Ltd said in its half-year results to June 30 that it had opened 38 additional Shell retail sites, 18 Select stores and two EV recharge facilities. Pakistan State Oil told investors it had installed nine EV charging stations on the Karachi-to-Peshawar route, and its network reached 3,638 outlets. Attock Petroleum Ltd added 33 outlets in the nine months to March 31, lifting its total to 811 while expanding EV charging projects.

Industry stakeholders expect petrol demand to stay firm, since 60-65 per cent of two-wheelers use petrol, and their assembly rose to 2.416m in FY26 from 1.692m in FY25. An oil industry executive put imports at about 70 per cent of petrol use, or 5.5m tonnes a year, against local output of 2.5m tonnes. The five refineries have told Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik they are ready to sign upgrade deals, with the agreement likely to be signed next month.