Thatta Cement has decided to step into Pakistan’s electric vehicle market, announcing plans to sell affordable electric cars through a wholly owned subsidiary. The cement manufacturer disclosed the move in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Thursday, confirming that its board of directors had formally approved the investment. The company will begin by importing fully built electric cars from China, with local assembly a possibility further down the road.
The announcement makes Thatta Cement the latest company from outside the automobile industry to try its luck in a market that has suddenly become one of the busiest corners of Pakistan’s economy. For years, electric cars here were little more than a curiosity, confined to a small number of imported models on the roads of the biggest cities. That picture is changing fast.
Thatta Cement says it will aim squarely at the mass market rather than the premium end. Its subsidiary will introduce compact and small electric vehicles priced for ordinary buyers, built around the mobility needs and purchasing power of a much wider group of consumers than the luxury models that have dominated electric car sales so far. The company believes this is where the real opportunity lies, in cars that working families and small businesses can actually afford to buy and run.
In its stock exchange filing, the company pointed to the steady growth of Pakistan’s electric vehicle market, noting that more consumers are showing interest in electric mobility and that both international and local brands have entered the sector. Government incentives and tax concessions have also helped the market expand, and Thatta Cement said these conditions made the timing right for a new entrant with a clear focus on affordability.
The plan begins with imports. The subsidiary will bring in completely built-up electric vehicles from China, a route that allows a new player to start selling quickly without first building a factory. The company has left the door open to expanding into local assembly in the future, depending on how the first cars are received. Thatta Cement did not disclose how much money it plans to invest, and it has not yet named the models it will bring in or the prices at which they will be sold. Those details are likely to follow once the subsidiary is set up and supply arrangements with Chinese manufacturers are finalised.
The backdrop to the announcement is a market that has grown far beyond what most observers expected only a few years ago. Pakistan’s New Energy Vehicle Policy, launched in June 2025, aims for electric vehicles to make up 30 per cent of all new vehicle sales by 2030, rising to 50 per cent by 2040. The policy also sets out a plan for 3,000 public charging stations by 2030, starting with 40 fast chargers along the motorways and the N-5 highway.
The numbers behind that ambition show how quickly the shift is already under way. The total number of electric vehicles in Pakistan rose from just 567 in 2021 to more than 80,000 by June 2025, although most of that growth came from electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers rather than cars. Production of electric cars and sports utility vehicles has also jumped, from only 42 units in the 2023-24 fiscal year to more than 16,000 in 2025-26.
New models are arriving at a pace the market has never seen before. Industry data compiled by brokerage firm Arif Habib suggests that about 23 new vehicle models are scheduled to enter the Pakistani market in the second half of 2026, of which nine are fully electric. Chinese giant BYD is building a plant with local partner Mega Motor in a 150 million dollar investment.
Rising fuel prices have given the shift an extra push. Petrol has climbed sharply, reaching around 397 rupees a litre in early October, and the prime minister’s adviser on industries and production, Haroon Akhtar, has said the cost of an electric vehicle can now be recovered within one to one and a half years through fuel savings alone.
There are still real obstacles. Pakistan’s public charging network remains extremely thin, with only a few dozen publicly accessible charging stations across the whole country, most of them in the biggest cities. Imported fully built cars also carry duties that can push prices beyond the reach of the buyers they are meant for, which is why most serious players eventually move towards local assembly.
Thatta Cement’s entry also fits a wider pattern of established Pakistani companies diversifying beyond their original business. Cement makers have spent years building distribution networks, dealer relationships and brand recognition across the country, assets that can be useful in selling and servicing cars. Whether those strengths translate into a successful car business will depend on the vehicles themselves, their prices, and the after-sales support behind them. For now, the announcement is a statement of intent, but a cement maker with no history in the automobile business now sees affordable electric cars as a serious opportunity, and that says a great deal about how far the market has come.
