Key Points
- Airlink Communication Limited will launch its Air EV electric bike brand on November 4
- Deliveries expected to begin within a week
- Pakistani technology company expands into electric mobility
ISLAMABAD: Airlink Communication Limited plans to enter Pakistan’s electric two-wheeler market with its own electric bike brand, Air EV, as it diversifies beyond smartphones to build domestic manufacturing capacity.
The company announced this at its annual general meeting, according to a research report by Arif Habib Limited on Tuesday.
Airlink initially plans to source electric bikes from international partners offering competitive prices before gradually shifting towards local assembly and manufacturing.
The company aims to achieve up to 95 per cent localisation over time, it added.
The electric bikes will use replaceable lithium-ion batteries, which it will procure locally. The company intends to expand domestic manufacturing as its operations develop.
The launch follows Airlink’s July announcement that it was establishing an electric bike manufacturing plant under its own brand, previously referred to as AirV.
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The entry into electric mobility reflects a diversification of Airlink’s business, which has traditionally focused on smartphones and other information technology and communication products.
The company is also expanding its consumer appliance business and developing instalment-based financing to support sales across several product categories.
Airlink’s Airfin to offer instalment financing
Airlink has established Airfin to provide buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) financing for smartphones, televisions, air conditioners and electric bikes.
According to the report, management sees considerable untapped potential in Pakistan’s instalment-financing market.
The initiative is expected to make products more affordable for consumers while supporting margins amid pressure from slower mobile phone sales.
Management believes monthly instalments could help consumers afford new smartphones and strengthen the company’s competitiveness against the used-phone market.
Airlink has also set sales targets for its consumer appliance business.
Air conditioner sales are projected to reach 65,000 units in 2027 and 95,000 in 2028, while television sales are expected to rise to 50,000 units in 2027 and 65,000 in 2028, the research report said.
Founded in January 2014 as a private limited company, Airlink converted into a public limited company in April 2019.
Its business spans communications and IT products’ imports, exports, distribution, wholesale, and retail sales. The product line includes smartphones, mobile phones, tablets and related accessories.
The Air EV launch adds electric two-wheelers to the company’s expanding portfolio as it pursues new revenue streams and gradually increases local manufacturing.
