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Four Major Chinese EV Automakers Building Assembly Plants in Pakistan

Pakistani auto industry, currently dominated by Japanese automakers building ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles, is expected to be transformed with the arrival of Chinese new energy vehicles (NEV) manufacturers. Beyond Your Dreams (BYD), Chang'an, Great Wall Motors (GWM) and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) are planning to build plants in Pakistan. Coming on the heels of the ongoing solar revolution in the country, these new EV entrants are helping accelerate Pakistan's transition to clean energy. These auto plants also create an opportunity for Pakistan to become a significant exporter of electric vehicles to developing nations.

BYD EV. Source: CNBC

BYD, operating in Pakistan through a partnership with Mega Motor Company (a subsidiary of Hubco), has started building a $150 million assembly plant in Gharo, Sindh. Its initial target is to produce 25,000 units annually, with the capacity to scale up to 50,000 units a year. It is expected to launch in the second half of 2026, with equipment installation and final commissioning currently underway. It plans to produce four models, ranging from entry-level plug-in hybrid Atto-2 to higher-end all-electric Seal and Sea-lion 7 Sedan and SUV.

Chinese EV Factories Overseas. Source: The Economist

Chang'an Motors has a joint venture with Master Motors in Pakistan. It is operating a state-of-the-art plant in Karachi with capacity to produce 30,000 units. The plant is already fully operational for fuel-powered vehicles, but Changan is steadily adapting its assembly infrastructure to introduce modular Lumin EV and hybrid lines over the 2026–2027 fiscal periods.

Great Wall Motors is partnering with local manufacturing giant Sazgar Engineering. It is expanding its capacity to produce up to 54,000 SUVs and New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) annually.

SAIC's factory located in Lahore is engineered for an operational capacity of roughly 25,000 to 30,000 vehicles per year. SAIC’s MG brand was an early mover, transitioning from completely built imports to local CKD assembly lines. They are actively producing and expanding locally assembled variants, particularly focusing on their plugin-in hybrid crossover lineup to gain market share.

Chinese automakers currently account for 20% of all auto sales in Pakistan while Japanese automakers Suzuki, Toyota, and Honda hold most of the remaining 80% market share. Kamran Kamal, a BYD Pakistan executive, has told Pakistani media that the new energy vehicles Chinese automakers are betting on will make up as much as 50% of passenger vehicles sold in Pakistan by 2030.

The ongoing solar revolution and new energy vehicles (NEV) boom in Pakistan will help reduce energy imports, improve energy security and mitigate the impact of climate change. Pakistan government policies should fully support this consumer-led movement toward the country's energy independence.

Comment by Riaz Haq on October 17, 2026 at 10:25am: Pakistan, China to take CPEC beyond infrastructure

https://mettisglobal.news/Pakistan-China-to-take-CPEC-beyond-infras...

October 12, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan and China are moving the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into a more ambitious second phase that shifts the focus from building infrastructure to industrial partnership, from government-led projects to business-to-business cooperation, and from bilateral connectivity to regional and global value chains.Buy Maps

The first phase delivered 43 projects worth about $25bn, including 17 energy projects that added around 8,900MW to the national grid, two coal mines, the Matiari-Lahore high-voltage transmission line, major transport links and some 200,000 direct jobs.

The new phase will be built around industrialisation as its main economic engine, with Pakistan positioned as a production and export base linking China with South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

It will also widen into agriculture modernisation, responsible mining, data, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud infrastructure, e-commerce, cybersecurity, digital payments and industrial automation, while Gwadar is to move from a transit point to a hub that creates value through its port, free zone, logistics, fisheries, processing and tourism.

Federal Minister for Planning and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal laid out the vision in an article published by China Daily, APP reported.

Recalling his association with CPEC since its start in 2013, he said the corridor’s strength lies in the two countries’ ability to think long term and find practical solutions together, rather than in any single project.

He said CPEC 2.0 will merge with URAAN Pakistan, the national transformation framework, whose priorities match the corridor’s five pillars of growth, innovation, green development, livelihoods, and openness and regional connectivity.

He said China is a partner and accelerator of Pakistan’s industrial upgrading while Pakistan remains the owner of its priorities, and that private enterprise is being brought to the centre of the corridor, with success measured by Chinese firms manufacturing profitably in Pakistan and Pakistani producers entering Chinese and global markets.

He said Pakistan is pursuing a deeper AI partnership with China covering joint research, computing infrastructure, skills, start-ups and responsible governance, and has proposed a Pakistan-China Knowledge Corridor as a central pillar of CPEC 2.0, backed by demand-driven training and apprenticeships.

He added that Pakistan offers Chinese companies a large market, a young labour force, natural resources and access to the Arabian Sea, and is adapting the principles behind China’s industrial transformation, including policy consistency, empowered institutions, infrastructure readiness and investment facilitation, to its own conditions.

He said the government’s commitment to protecting Chinese citizens, institutions and projects is unwavering, and that by 2047 the corridor’s strongest legacy will be a more capable Pakistan that produces, innovates and exports at a higher level.

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