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Photo: TRN Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle observes the company during a visit in Kathmandu on Sunday

Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has assured government support for promoting Nepal-made electric scooters. Minister Dr. Wagle made the assurance while visiting the factory and observing the manufacturing process of 'Yatri P2', the first electric scooter made in Nepal, manufactured by Sipradi Yatri at its factory in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu.

“Your hard work is commendable. It is encouraging to see the Yatri P2 being designed and manufactured in Nepal,” Minister Wagle said. “I hope you will excel in global competition in terms of quality. Go ahead, the government is with you.”

Stating the domestic design and manufacture of electric two-wheelers a historic achievement, he urged the company to expand into international markets and become competitive globally. “Apple designs its products in California and manufactures them in China. As far as possible, you should do everything in Nepal. Tell us what support the government needs to provide, but also think about what else can be done to expand into the global market,” he said. “I respect the hard work of Nepali engineers and designers.”

He also wished that scooters made in Nepal would be able to compete with brands operating in the global market. Stating that scooters made in Nepal could even run on American mountains, the Finance Minister expressed his best wishes that Nepalis living abroad would like this brand and that Nepalis would be able to see them riding it.

During the visit, Yatri Electric Bike founder and CEO Ashim Pandey briefed Minister Wagle on the design of the newly developed scooter, its safety testing, the components used and the experience of successfully testing the vehicle.

Similarly, Chief Executive Officer of Sipradi Trading Rajan Babu Shrestha said the company had achieved a historic milestone by designing and manufacturing the electric scooter in Nepal. He said that designing and manufacturing a two-wheeler domestically, with certain features that are unique even by global standards, represented a new achievement for Nepal.

Shrestha said the scooter had been successfully tested in Nepal’s difficult and challenging hilly and mountainous terrain and that preparations were underway to launch it for sale to the general public soon.

Company officials claimed that the scooter is the first in the world to be manufactured with a DC charger integrated into an electric two-wheeler. Shrestha urged the government to introduce some special policies on raw materials used to manufacture electric batteries and scooter components to help Nepali products compete in the market.

The scooter, which is expected to be unveiled within a few days, is currently being kept confidential.

Pandey, who returned to Nepal after completing his engineering studies in the Netherlands, founded the startup company Yatri Motorcycles in 2017 with the aim of manufacturing electric motorcycles.

The company has since become Sipradi Yatri through a business partnership with Sipradi Trading, one of Nepal’s leading automobile distributors.

The company has now manufactured the Yatri P2 electric two-wheeler with its own design and engineering, following quality testing by an Indian agency responsible for testing the quality of two-wheelers.