China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has announced plans to build its first production plant in Pakistan, Reuters reported on the 18th local time.
This makes BYD the first major new energy vehicle (NEV) brand to build a plant in the Pakistani market, which lacks EV charging infrastructure, the news agency said.
The BYD production plant to be built in Karachi will be built in a joint venture with Megamotors, Pakistan’s largest private public service company, Hub Power Co Ltd.
“We will establish Pakistan’s first NEV assembly plant, which focuses on BYD’s production of cutting-edge new energy vehicles, and the new plant will begin operations in 2026,” said HubPower Kamal, CEO.
Prior to the construction of the plant, BYD will open three “flagship” stores in the capital, Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, and will sell two sport utility vehicle models and one sedan model starting in the fourth quarter of this year.
Herb Power will set up fast charging stations in major cities, highways, and other cities to strengthen Pakistan’s charging infrastructure.
Bloomberg also quoted sources as saying on the 16th that the BYD plant will be built near Karachi Portcasim and will be completed in the first half of 2026.
Pakistan is the world’s fifth-largest population, with Chinese companies such as Shanghai Motor Co (SAIC) and Changcheng Motor Co. competing with Japanese companies such as Toyota and Honda, but electric vehicle sales are very small, Bloomberg said.
BYD, which competes with Tesla Inc TSLA in the U.S. in global EV sales, is also building production lines in Brazil, Hungary and Uzbekistan, in addition to its Thai factory, which it completed last month.
SOPHIA KIM
US AIS JOURNAL
