China Push: In Nepal, EVS now accounts for 76% of all vehicles sold.

Kathmandu: Kathmandu’s narrow streets – pedestrians and rickshaws are choke with engines. Buses, motorbikes, small trucks and taxis fill the huge valley with horn and exit. For more than 3 million inhabitants, it is just a dangerous, eye -beak to get around.But recently, a new type of motor has begun to reduce the crush. Smooth electric vehicles glide with a cool we. Shining showrooms do a sharp business in the latest models, and have turned into rest stops with cafe for charging station drivers on highways. In the last one year, EVS was responsible for 76% of all passenger vehicles and half of light commercial vehicles sold in Nepal. Five years ago, this number was essentially zero. The EV market share in Nepal is now behind some of the countries including Norway, Singapore and Ethiopia. The average was 20% for all countries in 2024.Swift turnover is the result of government policies with the aim of availing Nepal’s hydroelectric funds, reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and cleaning smog. It has been intense from the world’s leading manufacturer of Nepal’s largest neighbor, China, battery-operated vehicles.“For us, using EVS is a comparative advantage,” said Mahesh Bhattarai, Director General of Nepal’s Customs Department. “In the global market, Chinese EV is expanding. The same is happening in Nepal.” This effort is contrary to policies in the US and Europe, which has blocked Chinese EVS to protect its domestic auto industries. And it hopes for other developing countries that try to become rich without tolerating the crusable of pollution, of which many rich nations have already emerged. The head of permanent transport for the United Nations Environment Program said, “We are interested in ensuring that this rapid development in these emerging markets does not follow the trajectory similar to developed markets.” But as Nepal has learned, there are obstacles. The country has spent heavy on subsidy, and getting rid of support very quickly can change battery power. Even if gas-operated passenger cars are phased, air cleaning will require public transport as well as electricity as well as power. Asian Development Bank has been a major financer of Nepal’s dams, transmission lines and charging networks. The mission, a resident of ADB in NEPA, is cautious about the risk of backsliding. “Given the economic meaning, it represents EV conversion, I think I will see it as the possibility that we will have a major policy change.” Business and advocates, however, concerned Nepal may already support their commitment to infection. It has three PMs in the last five years, and the priorities have moved with each of them. The Central Bank of Nepal doubled the down-payment requirements for EVS. The government is increasing its tariff on EVS. And auto dealers are worried that some small Chinese brands can discredit defective cars from the category. Rajan Babu Shrestha has a license to distribute cars in Nepal from Tata Motors. He has seen the sale of sales on his EVS, but he can go back to sell gas-operated vehicles if the tariffs increase or subsidies for charging stations. “Stability is always a question mark.”