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battery replacement and payback, and gaps in the battery ecosystem.

Tax and duty incentives alone would not be enough without adequate charging infrastructure, reliable electricity, advanced battery management systems and greater private-sector participation, Taskeen said.

He called for public-private investment, dedicated depots for electric buses, mandatory EV charging facilities at new buildings in Dhaka and Chattogram, and a coordinated long-term policy framework.

EVs remain at a nascent stage in the formal sector, with only around 700 vehicles officially registered, although the informal market is larger, said Shibbir Bichitra Barua, additional secretary at the commerce ministry.

“So we need accurate data to be essential for effective policymaking,” he said.

The lack of a proper registration system for battery-run vehicles has left the government without accurate data on electricity consumption in the sector, said Md Mofijul Islam, chief engineer of the Bangladesh Power Development Board.

He also blamed the use of substandard batteries for considerable electricity wastage.

Md Aminur Rahman, director of the Sustainable and Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA), said the authority has approved 32 EV charging stations, of which nine have been installed and six are already operational.

He urged operators of unauthorised charging stations to obtain SREDA approval and said the authority is updating the Electric Vehicle Charging Guideline 2022. He also stressed the need to maintain quality standards for both charging stations and imported EVs.

The government is working on several EV initiatives under the prime minister’s close supervision, said Mohammad Moksed Ali, joint secretary at the Road Transport and Highways Division.

These include bus route rationalisation, a public transport fund, viability gap financing and a plan to introduce 400 electric buses with World Bank funding under a gross cost contract model involving IDCOL, he said.