15,000 units of vehicles are sold annually in Nepal. Out of this, EV or Electric Vehicles composites 1200 units or 0.8 % of market share. As the Nepalese auto-market is small in comparison to other developed nations, the US EV market composites of 2 % market shares. Most of the developed nations have already invested a large sum of money in EV plants and infrastructure. Along with developed nations, the bordering nation to Nepal; India, and China has also encapsulated renewable energies in their strategic future. As a result, the Government of India has already declared to position itself as a 100 percent electric vehicle nation by 2030 whilst China has developed its ambitious plans to sell hybrid and new energy vehicles by 2035.

Nepal is situated in a strategic location and holding one of the vital natural and renewable resources i.e. perennial rivers and water resources. The government of Nepal must take sustainable goals and start investing in renewable resources and conduct research and development on EV Mobility and its infrastructure. As future of the mobility is going electric, we have detailed five reasons why Nepal should start investing in EV and Electric Mobility:

1. Hydro-Electricity Potentiality:

Electricity generation capacity in Nepal is rapidly increasing. In terms of the recent progress in hydropower development, survey licenses for 302 projects with a total capacity of 15,885 MW have already been approved and 172 projects have secured electricity generation licenses and undergoing construction to produce 4642 MW capacity. The economic potential of the major river system of Nepal is SaptaKoshi 10,860 MW, Sapta Gandaki 5,270, Karnali and Mahakali 25,125, and southern rivers 878 which combined can produce 42,133 MW.  If Nepal wants to mark its place in the global arena, Nepal should start investing in EV and Electric Mobility as it has all the core resources needed to transform. 

2. Reduce the Fuel and Petroleum Import Cost:

Nepal has been importing petroleum products worth Rs. 1 billion every year. In the last five years, the major reason behind the trade deficit has become the import of petroleum products as Nepal has seen the hike of 10 % annual increment in the demand for petroleum products. As the peak electricity demand is 1,320 MW if the country can produce so said economically viable electricity of 42,133 MW. Thus, having an electricity supply capacity in a surplus amount the government can reduce such trade deficits seen in the economy. 

3. Reduce Pollution / Emission Still:

As air pollution has become the major issue in the context of Nepal, EVs can provide swift alternatives to reduce pollution resulting from fossil fuel consumption. Formulating and implementing investment policies on electric vehicles and switching to light electric vehicles over light fossil fuel vehicles and developing a public electric transportation system can help reduce emission-related pollution by 100%. 

4. Develop Internal Market and Enhance Road Connectivity:

Developing public transportation systems and shifting to electric buses and electrical trains will also enhance road connectivity and develop markets and the value chain. It helps reduce future transportation scrap costs as Nepal is yet in its initial days of introducing a train linkage system in its public transportation gridline. Investing in EVs will help the hydroelectricity sector and help in creating an internal consumption market.

5. EV Technology is the Global Future:

In 2020 the sales of electric vehicles have grown by 43 % globally. The current EVs market is going electric as in 2020 it has made a 3.2m turnover. It is estimated that globally by 2025 almost 20 per cents of the auto-motives will run through electricity. Be it, Tesla, Ford, and Google itself, almost every global company is investing in EVs and it has been already predicted that by 2040 A.D almost every vehicle sale will be electric vehicles. Thus, investing in EV mobility will certainly provide new opportunities to Nepal.

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