Govt to give 116000 e-bikes on easy installments

Federal government has announced a major initiative to promote electric vehicles by offering 116000 electric bikes on a two-year instalment plan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to officially launch the policy on Independence Day. This initiative aims to promote clean and affordable transport across the country. The plan has been developed with support from the State Bank of Pakistan and the Banks Association. Under this scheme, each electric bike or rickshaw will get a subsidy of Rs50000, while the remaining amount—nearly Rs200000—will be paid through monthly installments. The average price of an electric bike is up to Rs2.5 lakh.

People aged between 18 and 65 years will be eligible to apply for this scheme. So far, 17 companies have been licensed to manufacture electric bikes in the country. The main target is to shift 30% of all vehicles to electric by the year 2030. To support this move, the government has allocated Rs100 billion in subsidies for the next five years. For the current financial year, Rs9 billion has been reserved, while over Rs19 billion will be spent in 2027, Rs24 billion in 2028, and Rs26 billion in 2029. In 2023, Rs23 billion was used for similar subsidies.

The policy also aims to manufacture 22.13 lakh electric vehicles by 2030. This is a big step toward reducing pollution and fuel costs while encouraging modern and eco-friendly transportation in Pakistan.