Chery Q, Haval H6 GT PHEV and Suzuki Fronx ADAS get prices at the 21st PAPS; BYD unveils the Denza B8 and Sealion 6 as manufacturers press the government for certainty under the Auto Policy 2026-31.
LAHORE: The 21st Pakistan Auto Show concluded at the Expo Centre Lahore on Sunday after a three-day run across four halls, ending an edition dominated by electrified vehicles and by the industry’s demand for a stable long-term policy.
Three models were launched with confirmed prices during the show which includes the all-electric Chery Q at Rs5,554,000, the Haval H6 GT PHEV at Rs12,949,000 and an upgraded Suzuki Fronx ADAS trim at Rs6,799,999. BYD used the platform to unveil the Denza B8 and the Sealion 6, which it plans to assemble locally.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif had opened the exhibition on Friday, describing the automotive sector as a source of industrial development, investment and employment, and committing the Punjab government to promoting local production, technology and innovation.
The show, organised by the Pakistan Association of Automotive Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (PAAPAM), ran from Friday to Sunday under the theme “Industrial Pakistan”, with 150 exhibitors — 44 international and 43 local, by the organisers’ count — spread across four halls. Cars, motorcycles, electric and semi-electric vehicles and locally manufactured auto parts were displayed. Ahead of the opening, Syed Nabeel Hashmi of PAAPAM told The Lahore Times that no heavy-vehicle manufacturers would take part this year, and that the show’s value lay largely in new vehicle launches, particularly electric models.
Three vehicles were launched with official prices.
The Chery Q, an all-electric hatchback reviving the company’s original QQ nameplate, was priced at Rs5,554,000; it measures 4,195mm long on a 2,700mm wheelbase and carries a self-parking function.
Sazgar’s Haval H6 GT PHEV, a coupé-styled version of the H6 plug-in hybrid already sold in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Brazil and South Africa, was priced at Rs12,949,000.
Suzuki launched an upgraded Fronx trim with Level 1 driver assistance and revised upholstery, branded Fronx ADAS, at Rs6,799,999. Chery had opened bookings for the Q ahead of the show.
Several models were revealed or displayed without confirmed pricing. BYD officially unveiled the Denza B8 and the Sealion 6, and has signalled plans for local assembly of the Sealion 6 PHEV. Haval showed the H7 PHEV, Hyundai Nishat displayed the Tucson N-Line alongside its hybrid range, Jaecoo detailed the J5 BEV Premium Plus, Kia showed a refreshed Stonic with a 1.0-litre turbo, Jetour ran test drives, and GAC exhibited its GOVY AirCab urban air mobility concept. Electric two-wheelers had a visible presence, with Jinpeng revealing the U2 scooter, ZEEHO showing its EZ3, AE4 and AE7 line-up and EVEE debuting the S1 Air. The direction of travel matches recent launches in the Lahore market, including Master Changan’s Deepal E07.
The commercial display ran alongside a blunt policy conversation. At the 4th PAAPAM Symposium on Saturday, manufacturers and parts suppliers called for predictable long-term rules, lower operating costs and stronger domestic manufacturing, warning that shifting regulation and infrastructure constraints were undermining investment. Muhammad Faisal of Lucky Motors said long investment cycles were hard to reconcile with changing rules, including those affecting hybrids. Aamir Allawala of Tecno Group identified energy costs, taxation, financing, security and raw-material availability as barriers to exports. Syed Nabeel Hashmi pointed to utility bills, wages, freight costs, container availability and port delays, and questioned the reliability of road and rail links between northern manufacturing centres and the ports.
Other speakers pressed the same theme from different angles. Iftikhar Ahmed argued for a sustainable transition from imported vehicles to domestic production that recognises existing localisation in conventional two-wheelers. Rana Ihsaan Afzal Khan said tariff protection could buy time but not substitute for technology transfer, and named production scale, vehicle safety and battery and electronics manufacturing as priorities. Mashood Ali Khan of Mehran Commercial Enterprises called for testing laboratories, supplier clusters and raw-material development. Ashfaq Tola and Dr Azam Amjad Chaudhry linked electrification to lower fuel imports and higher productivity while criticising weak implementation, and Dr Amjad Hussain raised charging networks, technician training and battery recycling. An Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Industries and Production urged associations to prepare for EVs and, in what was presented as a personal view rather than policy, opposed used-car imports.
Those demands land against the Auto Industry Development Policy 2026-31, to which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif gave in-principle approval at a meeting on September 9 and which replaces a framework that expired on June 30, 2026. The policy proposes a simplified four-tier customs structure of 0, 5, 10 and 15 percent, cutting the weighted-average import tariff from 15.7 percent to 5.99 percent by 2030, with regulatory and additional customs duties eliminated by FY31. Duties on non-localised CKD parts would fall to 10 percent and on localised parts to 15 percent, with raw-material duties removed and an 18 percent general sales tax applied across vehicle categories. Green-vehicle support would move from tax concessions to direct subsidies under the Rs100.36 billion Pakistan Accelerated Vehicle Electrification programme, funded by a 1 to 3 percent levy on internal-combustion vehicles, with a target of a 30 percent electric vehicle share by 2030. The framework projects $17.7 billion in cumulative foreign-exchange savings, $4.586 billion in vehicle and parts exports over five years, protection of 2.5 million jobs and a net fiscal surplus of Rs21.11 billion, and is to run alongside the New Energy Vehicles Policy 2025-30.
At the opening, industry representatives had used the occasion to praise provincial schemes in which electric-vehicle firms and administrative officers commended the Green Taxi and CM Bike initiatives, while tractor manufacturers said the Green Tractor Scheme had allowed their industry to stand on its own feet. Punjab has separately expanded two-wheeler support through its student e-bike scheme, under which 125,000 free-registration e-bikes are to be distributed. Those assessments were offered by participants at a government-hosted event and are not independent evaluations. Neither PAAPAM nor the Punjab government had released footfall figures, booking totals or business volume for the three days by the time of filing.
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