Govt Prioritizing Electric Future: 200+ Charging Station to Be Built in Nepal

As expected, NADA Auto Show 2019, which concluded a few days ago, was a smashing hit!

If you did get a chance to visit the event, you might have witnessed the plethora of electric cars, motorcycle, and scooter. Moreover, you might’ve even seen people lining up to the stalls of Hyundai, Kia, BYD, NIU, Genius Motorcycles, trying to get a glimpse of electric vehicles over anything else.

“Electric Future”

Honestly, people are totally invested in this idea. So, it should be only fair that the Government of Nepal should be as well.

Setting on the right direction, Government has recently announced its plans to built 200+ charging station across the country. According to the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, guidelines for the operation of EVs is currently being finalized and is expected to be made within a week.

Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) will be given the responsibility to built charging stations along with providing electricity to the charging stations. However, the charging station will be flexible enough for EV brands to install them.

Basically, as soon as the guidelines are made public, everyone in the EV sector will move in, full throttle, to implement the electric future in Nepal.

Why now?

Let’s be honest here… Climate change is real and everyone has to do something to make a difference. Going electric is one of the best options to do that, plus, the operational cost of the EVs outweigh that of the fuel-driven vehicles. It’s pretty much a win-win scenario!

How’s Nepal Government Supporting Electric Vehicles in Nepal?

Hold your breath.

Government has already started to implement some of the changes for an electric future. Recently, they’ve decided to purchase more than 300 electric buses in Nepal. Moreover, NEA is also trying to rent land to establish ten charging stations in the Kathmandu valley.

But, what’s in it for you, right?

According to the Nepal Government, electric vehicles should be a go-to option, rather than an alternative. Keeping that in mind, import duties on private electric vehicles is down to 10% (30% in the previous year). Likewise, the import duties on public electric vehicles are down to an incredible 1% (30% in the previous year).

Different banks in Nepal are also trying to jump at this opportunity. Recently, Nabil bank announced “Nabil e-Auto Loan” initiative to attract consumers to buy an electric car instead of a fuel-driven car.

And, this is just the beginning. I expect more banks to bring out an attractive initiative to entice consumers to buy an electric over everything else.

I don’t know about you, but I see the coming of the electric future in Nepal… sooner than later.