A couple of years ago, Vmoto scooters were selling like hotcakes in Nepal: in 2016 new orders from this country was mentioned in every quarterly sales update for that year.
I was somewhat puzzled by this, as Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the World, certainly one of the poorest outside of Africa, as measured by GDP (PPP) per capita.
I was recently doing some research into what had been driving the apparent popularity of electric scooters in Nepal, and noticed this
article from a local news site, the Himalayan Times, from about a year back.
It appears that the Nepal electric scooter boom was a consequence of a border dispute between Nepal and India, which resulted in a
major fuel shortage in the country. Because of the mountainous terrain in the country, almost all imports into Nepal arrive via a handful of border crossings on the border with India, and as such, after the commencement of the blockade , petrol quickly became a scarce commodity.
I have pasted the relevant extract from the aforementioned Himalayan Times article below:
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.
You seldom hear much about the local Vmoto distributors, and so it is intriguing to read in this article some comments attributed to the sole Vmoto distributor in Nepal, Surendra Manandhar:
...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.
As indicated by Surendra above, sales of electric scooters have slowed in Nepal since the fuel shortage has ended. However, it does seem that the blockade crisis may have left a lasting impression on the country, giving the Nepalese government an incentive to promote the use of electric vehicles.
An
article from the same news site earlier this year noted that the government was looking to encourage the use of e-vehicles, and has reduced the tariff on the import of e-vehicles:
...The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has directed the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport to formulate a policy to encourage the use of electric vehicles, including e-scooter, to combat air pollution.
According to the OPMCM, a meeting of stakeholder agencies and non-governmental organisations related to environment pollution took a decision to ask the MoPIT to come up with a clear policy on electric vehicles as soon as possible. Nepal still lacks policy to encourage and promote the use of emission-free vehicles.
Interestingly, I noticed an
earlier article from the Himalayan Times on a similar topic that included a shot of a Vmoto scooter, so it would seem that Surendra has been doing a pretty effective job in promoting brand awareness in that country.
If the government of Nepal is encouraging the use of electric vehicles, I would say the two-wheeled variety is likely to be the biggest beneficiary, as most people in Nepal wouldn't be able to afford a large e-vehicle, and also because the mountainous terrain is not particularly suited to larger vehicles.
So, it surely couldn't hurt if the Vmoto management was to get in touch with Surendra. Nepal looks to me as if it is the sort of country this company should be targeting.
(20min delay)
