Nishat's Faisalabad plant builds JAECOO J5 EV, with price due on 6 November
NexGen Auto's first locally assembled battery electric SUV gets its ex factory price on 6 November. The published specifications already say a good deal about its range and charging.
The first JAECOO J5 EV came off NexGen Auto's Faisalabad line in October, and local reports describe it as the first battery electric vehicle assembled in Pakistan. The official ex factory price will be revealed on 6 November, and that number will show whether assembling electric cars from imported kits beats importing them whole.
The car is built from completely knocked down kits at the plant, which also assembles the J5 hybrid and J7 plug in hybrid. OMODA and JAECOO arrived in Pakistan on 1 August 2025 with a stated $100 million investment and have since celebrated 15,000 units. The J5 EV was unveiled at the Pakistan Auto Show at Expo Centre Lahore in September. Booking and delivery details will follow the price announcement.
The Premium Plus version shown at the rollout has a 58.9 kWh battery, a front motor of 155 kW (207.8 horsepower) and 288 Nm of torque. Its listed AC charging rate is 11 kW. The car can also power outside equipment at 3.3 kW, and the company offers an eight year battery warranty.
Reading the range claim
The headline range of 461 km is on the NEDC test cycle, which is the most generous of the three in use. The same car is listed at 392 km on the stricter WLTP cycle and 335 km on the US EPA method. Dividing the battery by each figure gives 128 watt hours per kilometre on NEDC, 150 on WLTP and 176 on EPA. The NEDC claim is 18 percent above the WLTP one for the same battery, so buyers comparing it with rivals should use one cycle for every car.
Charging figures are best read as ceilings. At 11 kW, a full charge of 58.9 kWh needs at least 5.4 hours, and a rate that high normally needs a three phase supply, so a single phase connection would be slower. The 3.3 kW outlet could in theory run for about 17.8 hours from a full battery, though conversion losses and a reserve would cut that.
What the price will settle
The magazine's view is that the price, not the specification, is the story. A kit assembled locally pays different duties and taxes from a finished import, and the saving cannot be calculated until the price is out. No share of Pakistani parts has been disclosed, and a car assembled from imported components adds jobs and servicing but little local manufacturing value.
NexGen's announcement on 6 November is the first point at which the Pakistani trims, price and range should be fixed.
