Haseeb Bhatti, who retrofits petrol-fuelled bikes with battery-powered motors in the northern city of Rawalpindi, said his March sales surged 70 per cent. For Ali Gohar Khan, who owns a 7-year-old electric motorbike retail franchise with branches across Pakistan, the recent surge in sales is the steepest ever.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have this fear that maybe in the near future, they might not get petrol at all,\u201d Khan said.<\/p>\n
The Middle East crisis has sent global fuel prices soaring, compounding pain for Pakistanis already hit by inflation and a post-pandemic economic downturn. As the nation imports nearly all its oil through the Strait of Hormuz, shortage rumours took hold despite the government\u2019s supply assurances.<\/p>\n About 40pc of Pakistan\u2019s petrol is used to fuel the 30 million two-wheelers and three-wheeled auto-rickshaws that dominate roads in a country where cars are a luxury and public transport is inadequate.<\/p>\n Industry officials and analysts expect the crisis to supercharge an EV rush in Pakistan, which would stand out from a broader regional surge for the availability of cheap and plentiful solar power to charge e-bikes.<\/p>\n A switch would also help lower oil imports and bolster foreign exchange reserves, and slash emissions in the world\u2019s most polluted <\/a>country in 2025.<\/p>\n After the government\u2019s 18pc price hike <\/a>last week, a Pakistani household earning the median wage now pays 31pc of its daily income for a litre of petrol \u2014more than all but 22 of 139 countries tracked by geopetrolprices.com <\/a>and Our World in Data.<\/p>\n \u201cMy monthly salary is 30,000 rupees. I can barely cover expenses for my family of six with this. How am I supposed to fill my bike?\u201d said Zahoor Ahmed, a security guard in Karachi.<\/p>\n From working professionals to college students, more riders have been turning to EVs in recent months. Last year, higher petrol prices drove up EV sales nearly threefold to 90,000 units or 5pc of all two-wheelers sold, data from consultancy Renewables First<\/a> showed.<\/p>\n This year, EVs have accounted for more than 10pc of monthly two-wheeler sales for the first time, said Talha Khan, CEO at EV logistics planning company Orko, a transition he expects to accelerate as filling up with conventional fuel can be as much as 10 times more costly than charging.<\/p>\n \u201cKeeping inflation and fuel prices in mind, I took matters in my own hands and bought an electric scooter,\u201d said Mehvish Qureshi, a lawyer in Hyderabad.<\/p>\n A typical electric two-wheeler costs around 250,000 rupees – more than half the annual per capita income for Pakistanis and 56pc more than the popular petrol-fuelled Honda CD 70, which costs about 160,000 rupees.<\/p>\n In February, the government\u2019s Pakistan Accelerated Vehicle Electrification (PAVE) plan<\/a> came into force, providing a subsidy for a fifth of the price and interest-free loans for the rest. The plan targets electric bikes and auto-rickshaws.<\/p>\n It has already received about 270,000 applications \u2014nearly seven times PAVE\u2019s first phase target ending June \u2014 Finance Ministry adviser Adnan Pasha told Reuters,<\/em> adding that the government aimed to finance 2 million EVs over five years and fund the plan with existing levies on fuel sales.<\/p>\n \u201cElectrifying just 2 million vehicles could result in nearly half a billion dollars in annual savings, as we don\u2019t have to import that fuel,\u201d Pasha said.<\/p>\n Many Pakistanis turned to solar after IMF-driven power tariff hikes<\/a> in 2023, snapping up cheap China-made panels for their homes. Now the government aims to capitalise on that boom to drive EV growth.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing solar can reduce electricity costs at charging stations, and make it more affordable to charge at home,\u201d Pasha said. Ammar Habib, an adviser to Pakistan\u2019s power minister, said EVs were also \u201cgreat for the grid as the steady demand from electric vehicle charging will ease some of the daytime volatility linked to solar oversupply.\u201d<\/p>\n Like its solar revolution, Pakistan\u2019s embrace of electric two-wheelers is built on Chinese brands. Scooter makers such as Yadea and Jinpeng, and e-bikes assembled locally with batteries and components from firms including AIMA and Sunra are expected to meet rising demand.<\/p>\n![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/primary\/2026\/04\/071221586a54f8c.webp\")
<\/div>![\"A](\"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/primary\/2026\/04\/07122346d64fdf2.webp\")
<\/div><\/a>Generous subsidies and interest-free loans<\/h2>\n
![\"Sumaiya](\"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/primary\/2026\/04\/07122801a9a50d7.webp\")
<\/div><\/a>Chinese players at heart of EV shift<\/h2>\n
![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/primary\/2026\/04\/0712210286033bb.webp\")
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