EVs in Pakistan – Are These Toys for Big Boys?

The global auto industry is living through its biggest transformation since the invention of the combustion engine. Companies famous for building loud, powerful machines are now racing to electrify everything, from the Hummer EV to Jaguar’s rebirth, BMW’s i-Series, and the all-electric G-Wagon.  And let’s not forget the Chinese manufacturers, who now control 43% of the global electric vehicle market as of 2025.

But this change didn’t happen overnight. 

The automotive world has spent the last two decades rewriting its own future. It all started back in 2000, when Toyota launched the Prius worldwide. It was the first hybrid car for the masses, and when movie stars began driving it, the idea of an electric future became a household name. 

Then, in 2006, Tesla, in its early days, announced it would build a luxury electric sports car that would drive over 322 km on a single charge. This woke up other giant car makers.

By December 2010, Nissan released the LEAF, a car with zero tailpipe emissions. Later, in 2012, the Tesla Model S proved that an electric car could be fast, fancy, and fun, changing the old image that EVs were just slow “golf carts.” 

The Electric Tipping Point

Between 2017 and 2018, Tesla introduced the Model 3, and it changed the game. It was the first electric car the US middle class could afford, with a long driving range and a good network of chargers. For the first time, middle-class families started trading in their gas cars for electric ones.

The Wave Reaches Pakistan

Now, this wave has reached Pakistan. In 2025 alone,  around 36 new cars were launched in our country, of which 17 were fully electric, mostly thanks to Chinese companies. 

On paper, these cars sound perfect. They don’t need oil changes or air filters, they rarely break down, and they are very cheap to run compared to petrol cars. Major-major plus point? Don’t pollute the air, which is why the government is offering strong incentives and has introduced its own policy, the National Electric Vehicle Policy, which came in 2019. In this policy, the government decided to go all-in on an electric future, offering massive subsidies and tax breaks to manufacturers to help make EVs a household name in Pakistan.

Despite these benefits and government support, electric cars in Pakistan still have a long way to go. While we now have many new options, sales still seem low compared to traditional petrol or hybrid vehicles. It means the electric dream is here, but most people aren’t ready to buy into it just yet.

Why EVs May Not Work in Pakistan (Yet)

A combination of factors is holding EVs back. The most important are:

The Initial Cost – A Barrier for the Masses

The real barrier to EV adoption is economic. Electric vehicles consistently outprice combustion rivals, not because of a ‘novelty tax’ imposed by manufacturers, but because of higher production costs. 

The lithium-ion battery alone remains the single most expensive component, keeping sticker prices stubbornly high. This component drives the cost of Pakistan’s cheapest electric car to Rs 37.5 lacs, as of the date of publishing this story.

In an economy where the average monthly salary hovers around Rs 52,000, and where a Gallup survey finds that only 4% of the population identify as wealthy, 46% as middle class, and 49% as poor, this premium is a deal-breaker.

The Depreciation Trap

In Pakistan, a car is a financial stronghold. Due to the currency devaluation, used vehicles often appreciate over time, acting like bonds. EVs, however, depreciate like smartphones.

You may ask, why? Let us understand this with an international example: the 2025 Tesla Model S costs less than its 2015 predecessor yet delivers nearly 50% more range and power, see the table below:

Feature	2015 Tesla Model S 85D (AWD)	2025 Tesla Model S (AWD – Base Trim)
Starting MSRP (US)	≈$85,000	≈$81,880
Peak Horsepower	≈422 hp	≈670 hp
0-60 mph	≈4.4 seconds	≈3.1 seconds
EPA Est. Range	≈435 km	≈670 km

This relentless tech upgrade cycle crushes the resale value of older units. 

In a market where buyers expect their vehicles to hold value, few will sink savings into a depreciating asset unless they have money to burn or don’t consider cars as an asset, which most people don’t.

History Repeats – The Struggle of New Tech

We often forget that the combustion engine cars we drive today were once considered strange and new. 

What electric vehicles are going through right now, combustion engines once faced the same destiny, until they changed for the better. 

Back in the 1980s, cars were often seen as “Toys for Big Boys.” They were a novelty, something exciting but rare and far-fetched — until owning one became a necessity.

Then came the 1950 revolution. This was the first phase, starting with the Bedford truck, followed by the Ford Prefect, Ford Cortina, and Dodge Dart. 

However, these vehicles weren’t truly “made” here; the local content in them was less than 20%, except for the Bedford truck. By the end of the 1970s, this early attempt at car assembly had practically come to a halt.

The real change began in 1983. This was the second phase, the arrival of the Suzuki FX 800cc. But the true game-changer arrived in 1989, when Pak Suzuki replaced the FX with the legendary Mehran. Known as “The Boss,” the Mehran changed everything. With a price tag of around Rs. 90,000, it was the first car that a middle-class salaried person could actually dream of buying. For the next 30 years, it remained the country’s standard car.

After Suzuki led the way, the market opened up. In 1992, we saw the Khyber and the Margalla, though they still relied heavily on imported parts. 

Then came the era of competition. In 1993, Toyota (Indus Motors) introduced the Corolla, and in 1994, Honda Atlas brought the Civic. By the year 2000, smaller cars like the Cuore, Cultus, and Santro arrived. This was the moment when cars finally became a normal part of life in Pakistan.

Today, history is repeating itself. Pakistan is a developing nation, and people are careful with their money. Just like in the past, families think multiple times before spending their life savings on a technology that feels new and different from what the masses drive. EVs are currently in that early “novelty” phase, waiting for their turn to become the new normal and more affordable than today.

Toys for Big Boys?

Right now, electric cars fit the old saying: “Toys for Big Boys.” But we should be careful not to judge too quickly, because history has a habit of proving us wrong.

For instance, remember when “Chinese car” was an insult in Pakistan? “China Maal” they would call it. We used to laugh at them. 

Today, those same manufacturers are on their way to taking over 30% of the global auto industry over the next five years, with giants like BYD already giving Tesla a tough time in Europe. 

The momentum is also undeniable. In 2025 alone, 17 new electric car models have been introduced in Pakistan. Even EVs are making their way into the commercial sector. The Punjab government is switching to electric, and on the private side, the most recent example is Daewoo running a battery-powered coach on the Lahore-Sialkot route.

However, as we said, for the common man, the electric car is still a distant dream rather than a viable choice. The technology has arrived, but until the economy aligns with the pockets of the middle class, the electric revolution will remain a luxury for the few, rather than a reality for the many.