KARACHI: The black colour around its lights reminded one of the panda or a male house sparrow. And the ruby red exterior of its prototype made it seem no less than a valuable gem. Nur-E 75, unveiled on Pakistan’s 75th Independence Day anniversary, hence the ‘75’ in its name, is the country’s first indigenous electric car, which also explains the presence of the ‘E’ in its name.

The Electric Vehicle, or EV, is an offering from the Distinguished Innovations, Collaboration and Entrepreneurship (DICE) Foundation, a US non-profit organisation, run by Pakistani expatriates, which combined forces with local academia and automotive industry in 2019 to then found the car company JaXari, named after the 12th century scientist Ismael al-Jazari, which then designed and engineered the car.

The hatchback or little five-door family car is a need of our times as seen after the recent irrational fluctuations in petroleum prices. It can be plugged into a 220-volt outlet for seven to eight hours at home or you can have it fast charged through DC chargers. Fully charged, it can drive 210 kilometres with its air-conditioner on.

According to DICE Chairman Dr Khurshid Qureshi, Nur-E is part of a revolution that will go a long way in lessening Pakistan’s dependence on fossil fuels.

“Being global citizens, we also understand climate change and what needs to be done for our planet. The entire world is moving towards clean energy and Nur-E will take Pakistan at par with the rest of the world. It means sustainable economic prosperity for Pakistan,” he said.

Dr Qureshi also said that after running tests on the prototype, JaXari, the car company, will be looking to design an electric sedan followed by a Sports Utility Vehicle or SUV.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2022