Kathmandu. Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle has pledged support from the government for the promotion of electric scooters made in the country.
Finance Minister Wagle said this while inspecting the process of manufacturing the first electric scooter ‘Yatri Pitu’ made in Nepal by Sipradi Yatri at its factory in Budhanilkantha, Kathmandu. “Your hard work is commendable. It is a matter of happiness that Yatri Pitu electric scooter has been designed and manufactured in Nepal,” he said. Go ahead. The government is with you. ’
Stating that Nepal’s decision to manufacture two-wheeler electric vehicle by designing itself was a historic step in itself, Finance Minister Wagle suggested to expand this to the world market and become competitive entrenched. “Apple designs in California, manufacturing in China. As much as possible, do it in Nepal. Tell me what support the government should provide but also think about what else can be done to expand in the world market,” he said, “I respect the hard work of Nepali engineers and designers.” ’
Wagle also wished that the scooter made in Nepal can win over the brands running in the world market. He wished that the scooters made in Nepal could run even in the American mountains and wished that the Nepalis living abroad would like this brand and see Nepalis searching for it.
On the occasion, Asim Pandey, founder and CEO of Yatri Electric Bikes, informed the Minister about the design of the new scooter (Yatri Petoo), its safety check, its spare parts and its experience of successful testing of the scooter.
Likewise, Mr. Rajan Babu Shrestha, Chief Executive Officer of Sipradi Trading Pvt. Ltd. said that they have achieved historic success by designing and manufacturing electric scooters in Nepal. According to him, designing and manufacturing two-wheelers in Nepal and having some features of high quality and speciality which is not available in the world is a new achievement.
Shrestha said that the scooter will be launched soon after the successful test in difficult and complex hilly and mountainous regions of Nepal. The company officials claim that the scooter with DC charger in two-wheeler is the first success in the world in Nepal.
CEO Shrestha said that the government should adopt some subsidized policies on raw materials to encourage Nepali products to compete in the market. The scooter, which is set to be made public in a few days, has been kept secret for now.
Asim Pandey, who returned to Nepal after completing his engineering in the Netherlands, opened a start-up company ‘Yatri Motorcycles’ in 2017 to make electric motorcycles. The company has now become ‘Sipradi Yatri’ in the business partnership with Sipradi Trading Pvt. Ltd., one of Nepal’s leading car dealers. This is the first time that the company has manufactured the electric two-wheeler ‘Yatri Petoo’ after its own design, engineering and quality check on Indian two-wheelers.
