Overseas Pakistanis have developed a ‘Made in Pakistan’ electric car that will be unveiled in the next three to four months.
In a first, Pakistan is all set to roll out its first electric car manufactured by DICE Foundation, a group of Pakistanis based in United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, aimed at showcasing expertise of overseas Pakistanis in the field of technology.
The project is one of the four mega projects run by DICE. DICE Foundation Founder and Chairman Dr Khursheed Qureshi told The Express Tribune that Pakistan has come close to introducing a ‘Made-in-Pakistan’ electric car to the world by utilising expertise of overseas Pakistanis.
The electric car was designed by Pakistani experts working in global auto companies in the United States and the United Kingdom. Pakistani experts have volunteered their services for the manufacture of this car which has helped in significantly reducing the cost of the prototype (first model) of the Pakistani car.
Qureshi said that the initial model of the electric vehicle will be unveiled in the next three to four months while the battery pack for the electric car is also being manufactured in Pakistan and its designing and fabrication process will be completed in the next two months.
He said that an electric Pakistani car would be a masterpiece of overseas Pakistanis as it is built according to international engineering standards and not a work of reverse engineering. The car has garnered some of the best reviews and is expected to get great attention from the world of electric vehicles.
Qureshi said that so far $100,000 has been spent on the design and manufacture of the prototype of the electric car. The funds have been donated by all the members of the Dice Foundation. Generally, it takes about $100 million to accomplish this type of prototype but owing to the volunteering by Pakistani auto experts, such a huge investment has been saved.
He further said that in addition to overseas Pakistanis, technical education institutes and industry of Pakistan have also provided assistance in the project. The technical analysis of this project is being done at DHA Suffa University while work for battery pack and power electronics is being done at NED University of Engineering and Technology in Karachi.
According to Qureshi, the interior and exterior design of the car was done by the National College of Art while other universities are also participating in completion of the car. Similarly, the fabrication of the car is being done in TEVTA. The project is also taking help from auto parts industry and vendors and manufactures of car parts in Pakistan are providing essential components and auto parts according to the specifications and design.
Qureshi said that the battery pack for the electric car has been designed keeping in view the environment, weather and driving trends of Pakistan so that it will have a minimum life of 10 years. Only the battery cells used in the car were imported from abroad while all the work of battery pack and fabrication is being done in Pakistan. Some companies have also expressed interest in commercial production of the electric car’s batteries in Pakistan.
He said that the prototype of the car is currently undergoing virtual and bench testing. Once the prototype of the car is ready, it will be undergo trials on the road and modified according to roads, driving trend, environment and weather of Pakistan.
Commenting on the commercial production of the car, he said that after the success of the prototype, investors would be encouraged to invest at least $30 million in the project. The electric cars and batteries manufactured in Pakistan will also be made available for exports, he said.
