NADA EV Expo 2022: NADA EV Chautari's First Session Discusses 'EV Technology & Ecosystem'

The first 'NADA EV Chautari' session was held today at the NADA EV Expo 2022. The symposium on 'EV Technology & Ecosystem' was attended by experts from various fields on the subject matter.Kulman Ghising - Executive Director of Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), Kanakmani Dixit - Chairman, Sajha Yatayat, Kimberly Waller - Deputy Director of Office of Health Office USAID Kimberly Waller, Anup Kumar Baral - Chairman, NADA Auto Expo committee, Bhushan Tuladhar - Chief of Party USAID Clean Air, and Sarita Rai - Head, Kathmandu Metropolitan City Environment Department, expressed their views on EV Chautari.

Kulman Ghising, Executive director - NEA,  said that for the first time in Nepal an expo has promoted electric vehicles. The authority has been providing electricity to electric vehicles at a cheap price. As a result, it is much cheaper compared to vehicles that run on petroleum products, he added while encouraging people to switch to EVs.

Speaking at today's program, Kanak mani Dixit - Chairman, Sajha Yatayat, said that the Nepali market has finally accepted electric vehicles. In the past, electric vehicles could not be seen, however, it is gradually increasing now. "Many countries in South Asia have been producing and using electricity sourced from coal which is very harmful and has a great impact on the environment. However, Nepal produces clean energy which is cheap and sustainable for the environment too", he added. He further announced that Sajha Yatayat is soon adding 40 electric buses to its fleet for clean mobility.

Similarly, Kimberly Waller, deputy director of the office of Health Office USAID, said that Nepal has been encouraging the use of electric vehicles for a long time and it is very positive. According to her, an emphasis should be put on electric vehicles for environmental cleanliness because vehicles running on fossil fuel products pollute a lot. She also announced that USAID will provide support for green mobility in the coming days as well.

Announcing her views, Sarita Rai, Head of Environment Department - Kathmandu Metropolitan City, said that electric vehicles have been emphasized in the policy and program of the current financial year.

Similarly, in the same session, a group of panellists - Shankarsinh Dhami - Mechanical Engineer of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply, Shilpa Shrestha - Researcher of Kathmandu University, Abhishek Karki - CEO of Abhiyantriki Karmashala, Dinesh Paudel - EV Training Head of Sipradi Trading and Sagarmani Gyawali - NEA, discussed the topic for the day 'EV technology and ecosystem'.

The session focused on analyzing the existing technologies and trends related to EVs globally and in Nepal, including the possibility of retrofitting ICE vehicles to EVs and charging infrastructure.

A seminar on 'Financial Aspects of EV' will be conducted during the second session of 'NADA EV Chautari' on September 24th.

NADA Automobile Association of Nepal (NADA) in association with USAID Clean Air is organizing a series of workshops on issues related to EVs from September 23-25 at the NADA EV Expo 2022.