Daily Times

What are Full Electric Vehicles (FEVs)? How and why do these vehicles are important for a developing country like Pakistan? How do FEVs contribute positively towards sustainable environment and how can they reduce Pakistan’s reliance on foreign imported petro-chemicals? Is the national electricity grid in Pakistan capable of bearing the load of potential electric cars? The world is moving rapidly towards renewable sources of energy to minimise its reliance on fossil fuels.

These questions enable one to understand the importance of FEVs and their positive impact on the economy and environment. The planet earth is endowed with numerous natural resources but it is constantly increasing its use of fossil fuels on one hand and depleting these resources while creating a man made vacuum at the core of the earth. On the other hand, the use of inefficient internal combustion engines whilst being below minimum output, emits poisonous and dangerous gases which are not only injurious to human life but the very existence of the planet earth.

There was a time when internal combustion engines were considered to be the only viable fuel for passenger cars and vehicles. But with the advancement in technology and a firm determination to approach the requirements of other fuel sources; the battery powered passenger cars or Full Electric Vehicles (FEVs) are possible, which are able to cover distances of more than 410 km on a single charge that takes about 60 to 90 minutes.

For a developing country like Pakistan, the FEVs mean life. These vehicles will not only save Pakistan from spending a huge chunk of money to import petroleum products from the Arab countries it would help Pakistan in reducing a terrible amount of toxic emissions

The Full Electric Vehicle is a vehicle that uses electricity as a fuel for charging the onboard batteries of the vehicle. These batteries in turn use the stored charge on them for running the electric motor, which resembles the same phenomenon of petrol or diesel fuel running the internal combustible engine of an ordinary vehicle. The FEVs unlike ordinary internal combustible engine vehicles do not have a tail-pipe or exhaust system since they do not emit any gases.

Full Electric Vehicles were considered a dream but with the unparalleled resolve of renowned entrepreneur and inventor Elon Musk; the dream has transformed into a living reality. Musk’s Tesla Motors revolutionised the concept of full electric vehicles. The Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi’s M-iEV are also such vehicles which are completely powered by batteries. German automakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi have also produced hybrid electric vehicles.

For a developing country like Pakistan, the FEVs mean life. These vehicles would not only save Pakistan from spending a huge chunk of money to import petroleum products from the Arab countries it would help Pakistan in reducing a terrible amount of toxic emissions. With, Pakistan being a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, it is an imperative to use such vehicles which help in reducing the emission of poisonous gases.

With China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s firm resolve to bring down the electricity shortage in Pakistan, it is believed that there will be surplus electricity in Pakistan by 2018. CPEC would increase the use of fossil fuels for the purpose of transportation by almost 20 times and also these petro-chemical vehicles would produce 20 times the greenhouse gases. It is evident that the electricity load-shedding has been reduced to some extent. Similarly, the cost of electricity is expected to decrease with the increase in supply of electricity.

There is a huge need to create awareness among the people of Pakistan about the disastrous effects of global warming since according to Gallup Pakistan survey report 1 in every 2 Pakistani people care about global climate change and global warming — nearly half of the population.

According to Gallup Pakistan survey report, one in every two Pakistanis cares about climate change and global warming — that’s nearly half of the population

It is an imperative for the Government of Pakistan to reduce import duty on Full Electric Vehicles, so that the people may experience quite and noiseless vehicles actually on the road. The Government may also initiate joint-production ventures of such vehicles in Pakistan by inviting Tesla Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and others to start manufacturing these electricity driven vehicles in Pakistan. It also puts serious responsibility on the environmental NGOs to create awareness among the masses about the use of electric vehicles and their positive impacts on environment and economy.

The author can be reached at mmab11@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, November 16^th 2017.