Happy times for electric vehicles

BY DEV KUMAR SUNUWAR KATHMANDU, July 26 - The swelling scarcity of fuel and its exorbitant price is pushing petrol-run vehicles off the road. Vehicles are either making their way into the garage or queuing up at petrol stations.It's a merry time for Electric-Vehicles (EVs). They yield rich returns to ... ...and they are in high demand in Kathmandu valley.The Nepal Electric Vehicle Industry (NAVI) has already sold eight EVs in the past one month and has received order for five more."Increasing fuel shortage and rocketing price have been a blessing for us," says Ashok Panday, managing director of NAVI.He said the increasing demand for EVs is good for the economy and the country's ecology.NAVI had sold 147 EVs in 1996 when it first introduced such vehicles in Nepal. However, the demand for EVs took a nosedive since then.Shree Ecovisionary, another EV manufacturing company at Lalitpur, has sold 15 three-wheelers within a two-month period and has received orders for 11 more EVs."We could sell only four to five vehicles during 2003 to 2004, when we first introduced the EV. But its demand has dramatically increased these days," says Umesh Shrestha, director of the company.The demand for not only three-wheelerevs but also two and four-wheelers is on the rise in the Valley.JR Goff, technical advisor at REVA Electric Car, the sole distributor of electric cars in Nepal, said the distributor has sold 25 electric cars in the past six months.The distributor had remained closed since 2001 due to lack of demand for electric cars."We have resumed service with the increasing demand for electric cars," said Goff.The demand for electric cycles, or e-cycle is also rising inside Kathmandu Valley.Absolute International, the sole distributor of electric cycles in Nepal, sells 40 to 45 e-cycles every month in Kathmandu valley alone.Prabin Thapa, manager of the distribution agency said, "Considering the rising demand for e-cycles, we have expanded our dealers to 20 different places throughout the country.

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