About Electric vehicles
An Electric Vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion. An electric vehicle may be powered through a collector system by electricity from off-vehicle sources or self-contained with a battery, solar panels, fuel cells or electric generator to convert fuel to electricity. EVs include, but are not limited to, road and rail vehicles, surface and underwater vessels, electric aircraft and electric spacecraft.
Commonly, the term EV is used to refer to an electric car. In the 21st century, EVs have seen a resurgence due to technological developments, an increased focus on renewable energy and the potential reduction of transportation’s impact on climate change and other environmental issues.
History of EVs in Nepal
Many of us don’t know but EVs have a rich history in Nepal.
The first ropeway connecting Kathmandu to Dhorsing was introduced in 1922 and was later expanded to Hetauda with a total length of 42 km in 1964. Electric trolleybuses were introduced in Kathmandu Valley with support from the Chinese government in 1975. These trolleybuses operated successfully along a 13 km route between Kathmandu and Bhaktapur until 2001 when it was shut down due to management problems. It opened again partially in 2003 but closed again in 2008. The experience from the trolleybus demonstrates that electric bus technology can be suitable for Nepal, but operations must be run professionally. Simply having the buses operated by a government entity may not result in effective and efficient services. since the government restored tax rebates, there has been a spurt in imports of EVs, but there has been a similar increase in the much more important battery-operated public transport sector.
Nepal imported 1,113 electric cars, jeeps and vans between last July and December 2021 – nearly five times more than the same period last fiscal year when 249 such 4-wheelers were imported. “Imports of electric vehicles increased as a direct result of the government’s revenue policy to discourage fossil fuel cars,” says Nawaraj Poudel of the Nepal Energy Vehicle Association (NEVA). However, there is a 50% cash margin threshold for diesel and petrol cars, but there is no such limit for electric vehicles, which has kept the prices of battery cars high. Still, since the excise and customs duties on electric vehicles were reduced, they were competitive compared to petroleum-based vehicles which have much higher taxes.
Electric three-wheeler or locally known as Safa tempo also has a successful story in Nepal. it was first introduced in Nepal in 1995. after the successful operation of the first seven safa tempo, they were handed over to a private company. the number of safa tempo has increased dramatically after three-wheeler were banned in the capital city in the year 2000. Today, there is more than 700 saafa tempo operating as public transportation. however, there has not been any improvement in technology over the years. this demonstrates that although the privet sector can operate electric vehicles, they will need support initially when the technology is first introduced. Additionally, the government also need to prioritize research and development to ensure the technology can evolve and grow with time.