Sazgar Engineering Works Limited (SEWL), a leading rickshaw manufacturer, has launched Pakistan’s first locally assembled hybrid electric vehicle under the global SUV brand name ‘Haval’.
The locally assembled HEV on November 17 in a ceremony attended by Mian Asad Hameed, the founder and CEO of the company, as well as the Chinese directors.
“We are pleased to inform you that the company has successfully assembled/ manufactured locally the first Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) of Pakistan and is being launched under brand ‘Haval’ as of November 17,” the company said in a statement submitted to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).
In the Chinese market, HAVAL H6 has already been the top seller in the SUV segment market. HAVAL H6 ranked seventh in the list of the world’s best-selling SUVs in 2021 released by market research agency Focus2Move.
Specifications
The car has a 1.5-turbocharged engine. The 1500cc hydbrif engine has four leading features: high efficiency, low fuel consumption, high performance, and lightweight.
The car goes from 0 to 100 in only 7.5 seconds with a top speed of 180km/hour. It is a fuel-efficient car that can cover 18 kilometers/ liter within the city.
The vehicle is available in four colors – Gray, black, white and red.
The H6 is 4653mm long, 1886mm wide, and 1734mm high. There are six airbags in H6 HEV and the camera is 360 degrees.
Safety features
Safety features include traction control, Anit-Lock Braking System (ABS), and Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) Second Collision Mitigation (SCM), Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Hill Descent Control (HDC), Hill Start Assist Control (HSC), autonomous parking, Blind Sport Detection (BSD), Lane Change Assist (LCA), Emergency Lane Keeping (ELK), Intelligent Dodge and Event Data Recorder (EDR).
Price of the car
The price of the Haval HEV H6 vehicle is Rs. 9.7 million, according to the company.
Joint venture
The project is a joint venture between SEWL and Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor (GWM). ‘Haval’, is one of four brands belonging to GWM, which entered the Pakistani automotive market in early 2021 through a partnership with SEWL.
In July 2021, the company was awarded “Category-A, Greenfield Investment status,” to assemble/manufacture Haval vehicles and the ‘BAIC’ vehicles already being produced. Earlier in June this year, Sazgar had announced the completion of its manufacturing plant where it was planning to assemble/manufacture Pakistan’s first Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV).
The Pakistani automotive had launched the country’s first fully-electric rickshaws (three-wheeler vehicles) in January 2020.
Trial operations
The company expected to complete the trial run of the HEV by October 1, 2022. However, in August the company submitted a filing to the PSX announcing an early completion of trial operations and that it was expecting to roll out the first CKD of the said vehicles within the same month.
5-year EV Policy
In 2020, the government of Pakistan approved the Electric Vehicle Policy 2020-25, aiming to see electric vehicles capture 30% of all passenger vehicles and heavy-duty truck sales by 2030 and 90% by 2040.