50-80 lakh electric three-wheelers cause Tk4,000cr revenue loss annually: Salahuddin

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has said an estimated 50 lakh to 80 lakh electric three-wheelers in Bangladesh are putting additional pressure on the power system, with illegal charging causing a revenue loss of nearly Tk4,000 crore annually.

The electric three-wheelers consume around 5% of the country’s total electricity generation, he said while responding to a notice under section 71 of the Rules of Procedure from BNP lawmaker Rehana Akhter Ranu in the Jatiya Sangsad on Monday.

Salahuddin said there are 50-80 lakh electric three-wheelers in the country, while there are only around 3,300 legal charging points to meet the power demand of this huge number of vehicles. More than 48,000 informal and illegal charging points operate in Dhaka alone, he said.

As a result, the government loses around Tk4,000 crore in revenue annually due to the vehicles being charged through illegal electricity connections, he said.

The minister also said battery-run autorickshaws accounted for 13.54% of road crashes in 2025.