Nepal imported 705 units of electric vehicles (EVs) in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, almost five-folds of the number imported during the same period last year.

The records with the Department of Customs (DoC) show that the import of EVs during mid-July and mid-October last year was only 143 units. This shows that the import of EVs is on the rise due to the government's policy to restrict import of petroleum products-run vehicles.

According to the DoC, most of the imported EVs were with capacity of less than 100 kW. Through the budget announcement, the government has reduced the customs rate on imported EVs that have a capacity of less than 100 kW, while increasing taxes on the high-end EVs.

During the review period, a total of 686 units of EVs up to the range of 100 kW were imported while 17 EVs between 100 kW and 200 kW were imported and two such vehicles beyond this range were imported.

On the other hand, only 699 vehicles run by petroleum products were imported in the first three months of this fiscal year. Since April, the government has prohibited banks from opening letters of credit (LC) to import these types of vehicles. Traders are said to have opened LCs for the given number of petroleum vehicles before the government imposed the restriction on import.

According to the DoC, the import of vehicles and parts stood at Rs 15.26 billion, a drop from Rs 21.84 billion from last year.