The declining popularity of electric two-wheelers in Nepal post the border blockade shows a sad disregard for our foul-weather friend

Kathmandu

Private petrol stations ran dry, kilometre long queues stretched before government owned petrol stations, car owners camped in their vehicles for days and those with two-wheelers idled next to their rides as everyone patiently waited for petrol to arrive. These were the scenes witnessed by many in the Capital during the 2015-16 border blockade.

At the time, when every city lay comatose due to lack of mobility, the attraction of electric vehicles (EV) was felt, and sudden awareness spread about the importance of EVs. The public demand for EVs, especially electric motorcycles and scooters, soared to a new high thanks to greater availability and affordable pricing. Soon EVs became the kings of the road.

According to Umesh Shrestha, President of the Electric Vehicles Association of Nepal (EVAN), at the time of the blockade more than 3,000 electric two-wheelers could be seen on the road. However their numbers have declined sharply since, so much so that today it’s hard to spot even one or two on the road.

“In 2015-2016 there was undoubtedly a huge demand for EVs, but currently there is very little growth in the sector,” he said, adding that although electric two-wheelers should be a focused segment, due to lack of concrete policy its development has been cut short. According to Shrestha electric vehicles suffer from a lack of policy implementation and long-term vision by the government when it could have, with better planning, helped correlate transport systems with energy self-sustainability. “Locals as well the government still hold on to the belief that e-vehicles have limited power and space to meet their transportation needs. These notions are from a bygone era but they have become an additional challenge,” Shrestha said. He further added that although the environment friendly transport policy for 2072-73 has been endorsed by the State, the policy has not been implemented effectively.

Over the past few years, several electric two-wheeler brands have been introduced in the Nepali market — Terra Motors, Hero Electric, Vmoto, BMC Electric Scooters and Bela Motors just to name a few. Surendra Manandhar, Director of Asta Auto, sole distributor of Vmoto scooters in Nepal said, “There was a huge demand for electric scooters during the 2015-16 economic blockade, we sold more than 30 units of electric scooters per month,” adding that now the sales have decreased by almost 70 per cent. “The electric scooter’s simple façade makes it unappealing to the customers. Now the fuel shortage problem have been resolved, many have gone back to getting a stylish looking bike and have forgotten about the benefits of eco-friendly bikes,” he claimed.

Similarly, Shyam Sundar Sapkota, Business Head at Fair Group, authorised dealer of Terra Motors said, “During the economic blockade we ran out of all our stocks; we sold 150 units in a span of two months. Although our sales are still good, there has been a drastic decrease in comparison to that time; now we sell around 78 units within the same span of time.” According to Sapkota the major challenge facing the sector is the general mind-set, which holds that electric two-wheelers are not as durable as their petroleum counterparts.