KARACHI: Pakistan’s transition towards electric vehicles (EVs) is progressing slowly, with inadequate charging infrastructure and limited investment by oil marketing companies (OMCs) emerging as major obstacles to the government’s ambitious target of shifting 30 per cent of vehicles to electric power within five years.
The government is pursuing multiple measures to reduce the country’s fuel import bill, including the planned $6 billion modernisation and upgradation of existing oil refineries. Earlier efforts to reduce petrol imports by promoting compressed natural gas (CNG) in the transport sector failed to achieve their objectives largely because of persistent gas shortages.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has set a target of shifting 30pc of vehicles to electric power within five years, with the government estimating potential annual savings of around $4.5 billion in fuel imports. However, the transition faces significant infrastructure and investment challenges.
Rising petrol and diesel prices following the Middle East crisis have gradually encouraged consumers to consider electrified vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). However, the pace of adoption remains constrained by the limited availability of public charging facilities.
Financial results of major OMCs indicate that companies continue to prioritise expansion of conventional retail fuel networks, while investment in EV charging infrastructure remains relatively limited.
Wafi Energy Pakistan Ltd (WEPL), in its half-year results for the period ended June 30, reported the addition of 38 new Shell retail sites and 18 Select stores, along with two EV recharge facilities. It also upgraded eight existing sites and inaugurated a 7.4-million-litre motor gasoline storage tank at its Tarru Jabba terminal in Nowshera to strengthen storage capacity and supply resilience.
Pakistan State Oil (PSO), in its 9MFY26 report, said it had deployed nine EV charging stations along the Karachi-Peshawar corridor. Its retail network expanded to 3,638 outlets nationwide after the addition of 107 outlets during FY25.
Attock Petroleum Ltd (APL), meanwhile, commissioned 33 new outlets during the nine months ended March 31, taking its network to 811 outlets. The company is also expanding EV charging and on-grid solar facilities at selected outlets and terminals and developing DC fast-charging infrastructure in collaboration with Hubco Green and Huawei.
Industry stakeholders, however, believe petrol demand will remain strong in the near term, particularly because around 60-65pc of two-wheelers continue to run on petrol. Two-wheeler assembly also increased significantly, reaching 2.416 million units in FY26 compared with 1.692 million in FY25.
A refinery official said EVs were likely to penetrate the market gradually and could begin replacing a significant portion of petrol demand over the next five to six years. Demand destruction in the four-wheeler segment, however, remains marginal at present.
An oil industry executive estimated that around 70pc of Pakistan’s annual petrol requirement, equivalent to approximately 5.5 million tonnes, is imported, while domestic production stands at about 2.5 million tonnes.
He pointed out that EV charging infrastructure in many developed markets is commonly located near shopping malls, residential areas and other destinations, while a large number of vehicle owners also charge their cars at home. In Pakistan, however, the government is encouraging OMCs to establish charging facilities at existing fuel stations.
The industry also faces the challenge of charging times. Unlike conventional refuelling, EV charging can take considerably longer, while fast-charging stations require high-capacity transformers and greater electricity consumption, adding significantly to operating and infrastructure costs.
Under current conditions, the executive said, hybrid vehicles may offer a more practical transition pathway for Pakistan than purely battery-powered vehicles.
Pakistan still has around 4.5 million petrol-powered vehicles on the roads, including a large number of ageing vehicles, indicating that conventional fuels will remain an important component of the transport sector for years to come.
At the same time, the country urgently needs refinery modernisation to replace ageing plants, improve efficiency and enhance competitiveness. Upgraded refineries could increase annual petrol and diesel production by around one million tonnes, reducing reliance on imports and strengthening energy security.
All five operating refineries have reportedly informed Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik that they are ready to sign modernisation agreements that would pave the way for domestic production of Euro-5-compliant fuels. The agreements are aimed at reducing petrol and diesel import requirements, improving fuel quality and efficiency, strengthening domestic supply resilience and advancing the country’s energy security objectives.
The agreements with the government are expected to be signed next month.
Pakistan’s experience with CNG also highlights the challenges of shifting the transport sector away from conventional petrol. Successive governments promoted CNG to reduce petrol imports, but persistent gas shortages prevented the programme from achieving its full potential, leaving CNG station investors and vehicle owners who had invested heavily in cylinders and conversion kits facing substantial losses.
With EV adoption still at an early stage, Pakistan is likely to require a gradual and balanced transition combining hybrid vehicles, battery EVs, charging infrastructure development and refinery modernisation to achieve meaningful reductions in the country’s fuel import bill.
Story by Aamir Shafaat Khan
