Amidst this crisis, which has affected all sectors, there was a lot of expectation from the industry that the government will announce measures to revive the industry. However, there wasn’t much in the budget to alleviate the worries of the Nepalese automotive sector. 

Here’s what Karan Chaudhary, Vice-President, NADA Automobiles Association of Nepal, has to say: 

We were hoping to receive a positive outlook with the new budget for the revival of the auto industry. But, it is disheartening to see that the government has further enforced its stance in keeping vehicles as non-essential commodities with the rise in duty structure of electric vehicles. We feel that the government should have given more focus on promoting EVs in the country. The budget has discouraged the growth of EVs. Furthermore, there is still no respite in credit limitation in automobile financing. Yes, the duty structure in the Internal combustion engine has no changes but this cannot be taken as a positive.

While there are a few optimistic notions, such as the removal of excise duty on spare parts and emphasis on automobile assembly, the measures taken by the government still lack any substance for the betterment auto industry. Because of this, it is still improbable that the sector will generate enough employment and earning opportunities to make a significant contribution in reviving the economic slump.  It would be right to say that the automobile sector is unimpressed by the outcome of the budget.

Also Read: Budget 2020/21: A Severe Blow To The EV Industry