Pakistan’s electric motorcycle battery crisis landed squarely in parliament this week. A sub-committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Industries grilled officials from the Ministry of Industries and Production over substandard batteries that fail within two to three years and a Rs80,000 government subsidy that some in the market are quietly misusing. The session revealed a regulatory picture that most buyers and policymakers had not seen laid out so plainly before.
Electric Motorcycle Battery Quality Is the Core Problem
Sub-committee convener Dr Mehreen Bhutto opened the meeting by flagging what she called a fragmented regulatory framework. Her concern was quickly confirmed by the facts on the table. Officials told the committee that Pakistan has no dedicated regulatory authority for electric motorcycles and no comprehensive lithium battery policy in place. The result is a market where low-quality batteries slip through unchecked.
The numbers are stark. Some manufacturers install batteries that become unusable within two to three years. When that happens, the replacement electric motorcycle battery can cost a rider up to Rs90,000, nearly the full value of the government subsidy given to help buy the bike in the first place. For a daily-wage worker or a delivery rider, that is a financial shock that wipes out every saving promised by the shift to electric.
Industry representative Dr Muhammad Amjad told the committee that EDB manufacturing licences do not specifically require the use of lithium-ion batteries. This gap allows some companies to install cheaper lead-acid dry batteries in bikes that are marketed and sold as modern electric vehicles. Lead-acid packs are heavier, hold less energy, charge more slowly, and degrade far faster than lithium-ion cells, so buyers end up with a product that performs well below what the label suggests.
No Testing Lab Exists Anywhere in Pakistan
The most striking admission of the session was also the simplest. Industry ministry officials confirmed to the committee that Pakistan does not have a single testing laboratory for electric motors and batteries in the entire country. There is no facility where a regulator, a buyer, or even a manufacturer can independently verify whether a battery meets any safety or performance standard before it goes into a bike and onto a road.
Committee member Naz Baloch had already raised this concern from a safety angle, noting that several accidents have occurred because of battery failures. Without a lab to test cells, those risks will keep growing as more subsidised bikes reach more roads.
Five Ministries, Zero Single Authority
The committee heard that responsibility for the electric motorcycle sector is split across at least five different bodies. Manufacturing licences are issued by the Engineering Development Board (EDB) under the Ministry of Industries and Production. Battery and vehicle quality standards are set and certified by the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) under the Ministry of Science and Technology. Charging infrastructure sits with the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (NEECA) under the Ministry of Energy. Battery imports classified as scrap fall under the Customs Department and the Ministry of Commerce. Once a bike is on the road, it is the provincial authorities who are supposed to regulate it.
During the meeting, officials from the Ministry of Industries and officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology actually clashed over which body holds authority to enforce quality standards, in front of the committee itself. The convener expressed serious displeasure and said both ministries should have arrived at the meeting with a unified position.
One manufacturer, Shahid Bajwa, put the practical consequence bluntly: if a company wants to report an illegal battery operator, there is currently no forum where such a complaint can even be filed.
The Grey Market Making It Worse
High import duties on proper lithium-ion batteries have created a second problem alongside the regulatory vacuum. Because duties push up the price of certified lithium cells, a grey market has grown up around them. Unlicensed operators import used lithium-ion cells as scrap, which attracts lower duties, then refurbish and sell those cells locally without any testing or oversight. A rider buying what looks like a new battery may be getting a reconditioned cell with an unknown remaining lifespan.
This grey market thrives precisely because there is no testing lab to expose it, no single regulator to shut it down, and no legal channel for competitors to report it. Until all three gaps are closed, the electric motorcycle battery problem will keep widening rather than shrinking.
The Rs80,000 Subsidy and Pakistan’s 2030 EV Target
The federal government’s PAVE (Pakistan Accelerated Vehicle Electrification) programme plans to subsidise roughly 116,000 electric motorcycles in the current fiscal year, at approximately Rs80,000 per unit. The scheme targets lower and middle-income households, and for many buyers the subsidy is the deciding factor that makes an electric bike affordable. At current prices above Rs250,000, an electric motorcycle without the subsidy is out of reach for most of the roughly 60 manufacturers’ core customer base.
Pakistan has also set a national target of 2.2 million electric vehicles on its roads by 2030. That number depends entirely on sustained buyer confidence. If riders who received subsidised bikes start finding that their electric motorcycle battery dies in two years and costs Rs90,000 to replace, word will spread fast. Pakistan’s motorcycle market is built on trust in running costs, not just purchase price, and a wave of battery complaints could stall adoption for years.
If you want to understand how Pakistan’s EV push fits into the broader shift happening across the region, our earlier coverage of BYD Pakistan’s record NEV shipment shows how global electric vehicle makers are already moving into the local market, a trend that makes domestic quality standards even more urgent.
What Comes Next
EDB Chief Executive Officer Hammad Mansoor told the committee that a new battery policy is being finalised and that many of the problems raised during the session would be addressed once it is approved. Participants at the meeting broadly agreed that the PSQCA needs to build dedicated lithium battery testing laboratories and strengthen its technical capacity. Dr Bhutto asked all stakeholders to submit written recommendations to the sub-committee.
The clock is ticking. With phase two of the PAVE programme already underway and tens of thousands of new subsidised bikes about to reach buyers across Pakistan, the window for getting battery standards right before consumer trust is damaged is narrow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are electric motorcycle batteries in Pakistan failing so quickly?
There is no law requiring manufacturers to use lithium-ion batteries. Some makers install cheaper lead-acid dry batteries instead, which degrade far faster. There is also no testing laboratory in Pakistan to check battery quality before a bike reaches the buyer.
How much does it cost to replace a failed electric motorcycle battery in Pakistan?
Replacing a failed battery can cost up to Rs90,000. This nearly cancels out the entire Rs80,000 government subsidy that many buyers receive when they first buy the bike.
What is the Rs80,000 EV subsidy and who qualifies?
The subsidy is part of the federal PAVE programme under the NEV Policy 2025-30. Any Pakistani citizen aged 18 to 65 with a valid CNIC can apply. The subsidy of up to Rs80,000 per unit is designed to bring the cost of an electric motorcycle closer to that of a conventional petrol bike.
Is there a single government body that oversees electric motorcycles in Pakistan?
No. Oversight is currently split between the EDB, PSQCA, NEECA, the Customs Department, and provincial transport authorities. The National Assembly sub-committee has flagged this fragmentation as the root cause of the battery quality problem and has asked all stakeholders to submit reform recommendations.
