While most bike production lines are looking to China for assistance in the local manufacturing of electric motorcycles (e-bikes), a Punjab-based manufacturer claims to have launched a native model to the marketplace that is also less expensive.
“With our in-house created tech, we launched the JE-70 e-bike. With no foreign finance, no partnership with the Chinese or any other country,” stated Mohammad Usman Sheikh, CEO Jolta Electric.
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At an event in Islamabad last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan unveiled Jolta’s JE-70 model. The locally manufactured e-bike costs Rs82,500 and has a top speed of 60 kilometres per hour.
According to reports, the state has received 17 proposals from different investors for the local assembly of e-bikes in Pakistan.
Without disclosing the entire investment in the manufacturing line at Lahore’s Sundar Industrial Estate, the CEO stated that he could not say how many e-bikes had been ordered since the debut last week. “A massive reaction from new purchasers was received,” he stated confidently.
“Students, instructors, and courier businesses have expressed interest in the e-bike,” he added, adding that people in the interior of Sindh and Punjab are interested in the model since they travel small distances of 15-20 km between cities and villages.
“The e-bike requires 1.5 units of recharging at homes, which is adequate for an 80-kilometre ride. The bike would cost users Rs1,000 a month, as opposed to Rs4,000-5,000 for a petrol-powered 70cc cycle. A person who has an e-bike would save at minimum Rs4,000 per month,” he noted.
The factory produces 1,000 e-bikes each month. The business plans to increase manufacturing to 6,000 units per month by December, then to 100,000 units per month over the next 5 years.
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“We intend to add four more models to the manufacturing line this year. The business also intends to launch three-wheelers, loaders, and heavy trucks,” Mr Sheikh explained.
Presently, a dry EV battery with a life duration of 2.5 years is utilised, which costs approximately Rs20,000. However, in the next couple of months, the firm intends to switch to lithium-ion batteries in other locally produced versions, which will be more expensive.
He stated that the government’s concessions, such as a 1% general sales tax and a 1% tariff on electric specialised parts, have piqued the attention of many big investors.
