Pakistan’s first e-bike receives overwhelming response

• Manufacturer of country's first electric bike elated over market response.
• Jolta Electric CEO says company is rolling out 1,000 units per month and intend to raise production to 6,000 by December.
• Says students, teachers and courier companies have shown interest in e-bike.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s first electric bike has received an overwhelming response from the market, according to a report published in Dawn Tuesday.

The company’s CEO told the publication that “an overwhelming response was received from new buyers”, without sharing further details about how many units have been booked so far.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had launched Jolta’s JE-70 model at a ceremony in Islamabad earlier this month. It is priced at Rs82,500 and has a maximum speed limit of 60 km per hour.

Mohammad Usman Sheikh, the CEO of Jolta Electric, told the newspaper that the company introduced the JE-70 e-bike with their indigenously developed technology, without any joint venture with a foreign manufacturer.

He said that students, teachers and courier companies have shown interest in the e-bike.

People in the rural areas of Sindh and Punjab, he added, are keen on the model, given their movement of short distances of 15-20 km between towns and villages.

“The e-bike needs an overnight charging of 1.5 units at home which is sufficient for [an] 80km ride. The bike will only cost Rs1,000 per month on consumers’ wallet as compared to Rs4,000-5,000 on a petrol-driven 70cc bike. An e-bike owner will save at least Rs4,000 per month,” he told the publication.

The CEO added that, currently, the company is rolling out 1,000 units per month and they intend to raise the production to 6,000 e-bikes per month by the end of this year.

About the company’s future plans, Sheikh said that they are also planning to launch three-wheelers, loaders and heavy vehicles.

First locally produced e-bike

The launching of the e-bike was part of the present government’s five-year Pakistan Electric Vehicles Policy 2020-2025, approved last year and envisaged targeting a robust electric vehicle market having a 30% and 90% share in passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks by 2030 and 2040 respectively.

The salient features of the policy included a phased transition of the automobile industry, as it would be covering two and three-wheelers and heavy commercial vehicles providing incentives to manufacturers.

The e-bike, to be launched by the prime minister had been manufactured by a Pakistani company, Jolta Electric, and was considered as a major step towards electrifying the country’s automobile industry.

The e-bike, to be available in various models including JE-70, JE-70 L, JE-70 D, JE-100 L, JE-125 L, JE-Scooty, JE-Sports Bike, is energy efficient and can be charged overnight with other features such as no clutch and gear and low maintenance.

Various models of Jolta E-Bikes have different speed specifications from 10 to 60 kilometres per hour and can cover a distance after full charge from 60 to 100 kilometres.

Jolta EV technology, an initiative by AUJ Technologie Pvt. Ltd, was the EV technology provider, designed key components of electric vehicle kits for two, three, and four-wheelers.