Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Saturday test drove several locally made electric vehicles at the Prime Minister’s Office in Dhaka and assured manufacturers of government support for the emerging industry.
The vehicles, produced by Bangladesh Auto Industries Limited, were displayed at the PMO premises in the capital’s Tejgaon area during a special exhibition of electric and sports vehicles.
According to the Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary Mostafa Zulfiquar Hasan, the premier personally drove both a sports utility vehicle and a covered van while company representatives briefed him on the vehicles’ technical features and production process.
Representatives of the company said Bangladesh Auto Industries Limited was the country’s first electric vehicle manufacturer. They told the Prime Minister that the vehicles are fully battery-operated, environmentally friendly and consume comparatively less electricity, as they do not require fuel oil. The company also said efforts had been made to keep prices affordable for ordinary consumers.
Tarique Rahman said the government would support the initiative if electric vehicles were produced in line with required standards and safety measures and if the industry benefited the country.
Two SUVs, a covered van, a truck, an auto-rickshaw and two motorcycles were displayed during the inspection. The Prime Minister arrived at his office at around 10:00am and inspected the vehicles before entering his chamber. He later held a meeting with company chairman A Mannan Hossain Khan and managing director Mir Masud Kabir to discuss the market potential and future prospects of electric vehicles in Bangladesh.
After the meeting, A Mannan Hossain Khan said some raw materials still needed to be imported despite the use of local technology in manufacturing. “If we get tax benefits on these raw materials, it will be possible to bring cars to the market at a lower cost,” he said.
Mir Masud Kabir said the vehicles had been manufactured according to European standards and could eventually have export potential in international markets.
According to the company, the SUV can travel more than 450 kilometres on a single charge. Standard charging takes between five and six hours, while fast charging requires around 30 minutes. The truck and covered van can each travel nearly 200 kilometres on a single charge, with regular charging taking about six hours and fast charging around 40 minutes.
Among those present at the event were Prime Minister’s Defence Adviser Brigadier General (Retd) Dr AKM Shamsul Islam, State Minister for Youth and Sports Md Aminul Haque, Principal Secretary ABM Abdus Sattar, Press Secretary AAM Saleh Shibly, Additional Press Secretary Atikur Rahman Ruman and Special Assistant Dr Md Shakirul Islam Khan.
The Prime Minister also visited the broader sports car and EV exhibition at the PMO and exchanged views with representatives concerned about modern vehicle technologies.
After the programme, Tarique Rahman left the Prime Minister’s Office at 11:05am for Trishal in Mymensingh to attend a series of official and political events.
