‘Govt move to promote hybrid cars still insufficient’
KATHMANDU, AUG 28 -
Auto sector stakeholders have welcomed the government’s initiative to promote hybrid vehicles, but said the government has not shown enough commitment.
The budget for this fiscal year has waived off 25 percent customs duty on the import of hybrid vehicles.
However, Nepal Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) said the scheme was not enough to encourage traders to promote energy-efficient vehicles. The apex body of the country’s automobile traders had recommended waiving up to 50 percent customs duty and fully exempting the excise duty on the imports of such vehicles.
“The government’s initiative to promote hybrid vehicles is laudable. But the scheme is not enough to promote such vehicles in the country,” said Saurabh Jyoti, immediate past president of NADA, speaking at The Kathmandu Post round table on Wednesday.
Jyoti said since the production of such vehicles is limited, its prices are relatively higher compared to other vehicles. “Therefore, there is a need to provide more subsidies.”
The use of hybrid vehicles has multiple benefits. On one hand it is environment friendly, while on the other hand, it can significantly reduces Nepal’s dependency on imported petroleum products. Nepal imported petroleum products worth Rs 131.33 billion in the last fiscal year and the demand is growing 20 percent annually.
“As Nepal spends billions to import petroleum products, reducing even a small amount of import can be fruitful for Nepal’s economy,” Jyoti said, adding if promoted well, hybrid machines could command a lion’s share in the market in the next decade. Anjan Shrestha, NADA’s vice president, said the current initiative could not boost the hybrid vehicles sales although the government is optimistic on it. “There are more things to be done,” he said, adding the government’s policy should realise hybrid vehicles are next generation vehicles in the context of Nepal’s market and they should be promoted accordingly.
“As vehicles are means of the country’s development, the government should promote them rather than restrict,” said Gopi Neupane, general manager of CG MotorCorp. Neupane said import of two-wheelers dropped in the last fiscal year.
“As only 4 percent of the country’s population owns two-wheelers and less than a percent owns four-wheeler, the situation clearly indicates that vehicles penetration is not up to the mark,” Neupane said. “In such scenario, the government should not formulate policy in the context of the vehicle congestion in the Kathmandu valley.”
Deepak Thapa of Eastern Motors said the government should be more responsible to auto sector that contributes around 20 percent to the nation’s revenue. The round table was organised on the eve of NADA Auto Show 2014 scheduled from September 3-7 in the Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Hall, Kathmandu . According to Sambhu Dahal, coordinator of the expo, the show will have over 100 stalls featuring 53 exhibitors.
As all the dealers and sellers of two-wheeler and four-wheeler sellers will assemble into a single platform this year, the organizer said that this year’s expo will be bigger and better and has expected a footfall of over 50,000 people during the five-day event.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
