As a result of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, many nations in the world today are facing sky-rocketing fuel and crude oil prices due to ongoing war that has put the Russian oil reserves into sanction. This crisis has resulted in a hike in the prices of fuel affecting the fuel operated amenities that are crucial for a country, which of them are fuel operated vehicles.
Nepal as one of the south asian countries, heavily dependent on the foreign oil reserves, has been a victim of high fuel prices among many other importers. With regular increment in the prices of petrol and diesel by an average of Rs.5 every week, commuters have been facing a financial dilemma with their expenditure on the expensive fuel. These ever increasing fuel prices have left vehicle users stranded.
The Nepali government is highly concerned about the oil reserves of the Nepal Oil Corporation and its budget. The corporation is lacking in the financial as well as operational level. The government has made provisions to reduce the consumption of fuel, some of which are two day government holidays, promotion of usage of electric vehicles and more.
With the government's move to lift taxes and excise duties that was previously heavily imposed on the Electric Vehicles, people have been turning towards purchasing these engine less vehicles to be more environmentally viable. Now, the need for EV’s are not just limited to social responsibility but financial limitations too.
Due to excessively high fuel prices, the popularity of purchasing electric, scooters, bikes and cars has seen an incremental incline in the Nepali market. Almost 10 electric vehicle manufacturers from other countries are to set up their plants in Nepal, observing the growth prospect of EV in Nepal. Electric scooter brands such as NIU, Super Soco, Yadea and electric car brands such as MG, Hyundai, Kia have been the most prevalently seen electric vehicles in the streets of Nepal.
Popularity of electric vehicles is visible with the amount of pre-booking for these vehicles have been tremendously increasing day by day. The volume of electric vehicles on the city roads are increasing day by day. With the government's support to promote the usage of EV’s through reduced taxation policies, installments of charging stations and provisions for electric public transport has helped the growth of these vehicles. At this rate of increment, the Nepal government’s aim to switch to electric vehicles by 2031, might seem to be achievable.