Pakistan's Electric Dream Hits a Slow Lane

Pakistan had a grand vision, you know? Just a couple of years ago, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif laid out this rather bold plan: a 30% shift to electric vehicles (EVs) within five years. The goal wasn't just about going green, though that's certainly a part of it; it was about saving a whopping $4.5 billion annually on those ever-so-costly fuel imports. Sounds fantastic on paper, doesn't it? But here we are, and the reality on the ground feels a lot slower than that ambitious timeline.

The biggest roadblock, it seems, is quite literal: infrastructure. Or, more accurately, the severe lack thereof. Imagine wanting to buy an EV, but then wondering where on earth you'd actually charge it. That's the dilemma facing many prospective EV owners. What’s really interesting, or perhaps frustrating, is that the very companies we'd expect to drive this change – the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) – are still largely focused on their traditional bread and butter: expanding petrol and diesel outlets.

Let's look at some examples. Wafi Energy Pakistan Ltd (WEPL), for instance, which operates Shell sites, reported adding 38 new retail fuel stations in the first half of 2026. Great for petrol users, sure. But how many EV charging facilities did they manage? A paltry two. Yes, you read that right – just two. They also invested heavily in a massive 7.4-million-litre motor gasoline storage tank. It just goes to show where the real investment priorities lie right now, doesn't it?

It's not an isolated case either. Pakistan State Oil (PSO) did deploy nine EV charging stations, which is something, along that busy Karachi-to-Peshawar corridor. But contrast that with the 107 new petrol outlets they added in the previous fiscal year, bringing their total retail network to over 3,600. And Attock Petroleum Ltd (APL), while actively exploring EV charging and solar installations with partners like Hubco Green and Huawei, still commissioned 33 new traditional fuel outlets, expanding their network to 811. The pace for petrol expansion far outstrips the crawl for EV infrastructure.

So, why the foot-dragging? Well, industry stakeholders have a few answers, and they're quite pragmatic. For one, petrol demand is expected to remain robust. Think about it: a huge chunk, around 60-65%, of Pakistan’s two-wheelers, are still guzzling petrol. And with 2.4 million two-wheelers assembled in the last fiscal year alone, that's a lot of petrol engines on the road. Plus, there are millions of older, petrol-driven cars that aren't going anywhere anytime soon. As one refinery official put it, EVs are likely to "penetrate slowly and may replace petrol in the next five to six years" – a timeframe that feels a lot longer than the initial five-year target for a 30% shift.

There are also practical challenges. Charging an EV takes time, a lot longer than a quick petrol fill-up. Fast chargers, while convenient, require heavy-duty, high-capacity transformers, which means higher costs for installation. An oil industry executive even suggested that hybrid vehicles might be a more sensible option for Pakistan under current circumstances, striking a balance between fuel efficiency and infrastructure availability. It’s a familiar story, too; previous government initiatives, like promoting CNG to cut petrol imports, ultimately faltered due to gas shortages, leaving investors and car owners in a lurch. That kind of history can make people cautious.

And let's not forget our continued reliance on imported fuel. About 70% of Pakistan’s petrol needs, some 5.5 million tonnes annually, come from abroad. This reliance is precisely why the government is pushing for a massive $6 billion refinery upgrade plan. All five local refineries are on board, ready to sign agreements to modernize and produce Euro-5-compliant fuel locally, significantly boosting petrol and diesel output. This move, while vital for energy security, also signals that Pakistan isn't ditching fossil fuels anytime soon, at least not entirely.

The initial push towards electrified vehicles was certainly spurred by global events, particularly the Middle East crisis that drove up petrol and diesel prices. That urgency felt real then, pushing us towards HEVs, REEVs, and BEVs. But as time wears on, and the challenges of infrastructure become starker, it’s clear that Pakistan’s journey to an all-electric future is going to be a much longer, more gradual one than originally envisioned. It’s less a sprint and more a marathon, with plenty of pit stops needed for charging infrastructure along the way.