Govt, GIZ to advance Bangladesh’s EV policy

To develop a structured roadmap for Bangladesh’s rapidly growing electric vehicle (EV) sector, the Ministry of Industries, in collaboration with GIZ Bangladesh, hosted a milestone Stakeholder Consultation Workshop on the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Policy 2026 on Thursday.

The consultation focused heavily on optimising industrial and regulatory frameworks to meet the government’s ambitious goal of 30% EV penetration across transport modes by 2030, a directive formalised under the Electric Motor Registration and Operation Guideline 2023, said a press release.

With road transport accounting for 81% of the country’s transport sector emissions, a regulated transition to e-mobility has become both an environmental and economic imperative.

Presiding over the workshop, Abdun Naser Khan, secretary of the Ministry of Industries, said “If Bangladesh fails to prepare adequately today, we will not only miss out on an emerging industrial sector, but also risk falling behind in the global value chain (GVC). It is precisely this reality that inspired the Ministry of Industries to craft a forward-looking, comprehensive policy framework. Our target is not merely to become an importer of electric vehicles. Our ultimate goal is to establish Bangladesh as an EV manufacturing nation.”

Representing German Development Cooperation, Jannis Hussain, deputy head of cooperation at the German Embassy, and Mark Gombert, country director of GIZ Bangladesh, highlighted Germany’s ongoing commitment to supporting Bangladesh’s transition toward sustainable mobility. Through the “Transition to Sustainable E-Mobility” (Trans2SMo) project, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ, technical and advisory support is being provided directly to the Ministry of Industries in formulating the EV Policy.

As part of this support, GIZ previously engaged national and international sector experts to thoroughly review the draft policy and provide strategic recommendations to further refine it, strengthening the legal, institutional, and administrative frameworks necessary to build a formal, standard-compliant EV ecosystem.

A primary consideration for scaling electric mobility remains the readiness of the national power supply, given that low-carbon sources accounted for roughly 2% of generation in 2025. However, recent data presented at the session confirms that Bangladesh’s power grid is well-positioned to absorb the transition. This shift will be managed through targeted grid planning, smart charging protocols, and prioritised deployment of Smart Grid technology to prevent electricity deficits.

To accelerate market adoption and the necessary infrastructure, the Power Division and National Board of Revenue are actively rolling out nationwide measures to incentivize public and private investments.

Under the proposed policy framework, the Total Tax Incidence (TTI) on electric motorcars imported in Completely Built-Up (CBU) condition will be fixed at 37% until 2030, while the TTI across all EV categories imported in Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) condition will be fixed at 15.25% until 2035 to encourage local assembly and manufacturing.

This complements key fiscal incentives, such as a 10-year income tax exemption for institutions establishing EV charging stations.

The event concluded with a strong emphasis on continuous mass transport modernisation and public-private synergy. Moving forward, the collaborative network of the Ministry of Industries, the Power Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, the Road Transport and Highways Division, BRTA, NBR, LGD and other stakeholders will continue driving the necessary technical, industrial, and administrative executions.