Manufacturer BYD and its Pakistani partner have completed a 15-day trial operation of a K9 battery-electric bus in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. Home to over 16 million people, it is the coastal capital of the Sindh province and a transport hub connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe. The BYD e-bus is the first electric bus in Pakistan, and the local government in Karachi aims to build a 100-strong pure-electric bus fleet during 2021.
“We are very excited to welcome Pakistan’s first pure-electric bus,” said Syed Awais Qadir Shah, Sindh Transport Minister. “The successful trial operation of pure-electric buses in Karachi marks an important step towards electrification. We plan to add 100 pure-electric buses within this year, hoping that our public transportation system will be able to popularize pure-electric buses in the future.”
Ketsu Zhang, Assistant General Manager of BYD Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division, added: “It’s a great honor to bring BYD’s electric K9 bus to Karachi for the first trial operation. I believe that Karachi will become a model of Pakistan’s green cities of the future, bringing people a smarter, safer, and cleaner travel experience.”
Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, the Federal Minister for Science and Technology of Pakistan, also expressed his support for the Sindh Provincial Government’s green travel initiative. He hopes that the neighboring governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa can also adopt electric buses as soon as possible to build a green urban transportation system and contribute to energy conservation and emission reduction.
