KATHMANDU: Customers who booked EVs during the NAIMA Nepal Mobility Expo and NADA Auto Show are increasingly likely to receive their vehicles before Dashain, as shipments stranded in Mustang have started moving towards their destinations.
The movement resumed after the Kaligandaki Corridor reopened on October 9, following a two-week disruption caused by floods and landslides. The road had been blocked at several locations between September 24 and 28, leaving imported vehicles stranded in Mustang.
More than 2,500 EVs entered Nepal through the Korala border crossing in Mustang during the first 14 days of October, according to the Mustang Customs Office.
Around 500 EVs are estimated to have left Mustang between Saturday and Wednesday afternoon. However, the exact number has not been confirmed.
Santosh Basyal, information officer at the District Police Office, Mustang, said 2,937 vehicles had left the district since the road reopened on Friday evening.
The figure includes different types of vehicles, including containers, electric cars, two-wheelers, public transport vehicles and tourist vehicles. Police do not maintain separate figures by vehicle category.
“Most of the vehicles leaving Mustang are containers and electric cars,” Basyal told Meroauto.
Dealers prepare for Dashain deliveries
Some vehicles have already reached Pokhara. Dealers have started forwarding them to their respective showrooms for delivery.
Dealers are preparing to hand over vehicles within the next one or two days, subject to the completion of necessary procedures. They expect more vehicles to arrive before Phulpati, increasing the likelihood of pre-Dashain deliveries.
However, dealers remain uncertain whether all customers who booked vehicles will receive them before the festival. Road conditions and the volume of vehicles still in transit could affect delivery schedules.
EV brands arriving through Korala include BYD, Chery, OMODA, JAECOO, Dongfeng Nammi, Leapmotor, MG and the ORA and Haval brands under Great Wall Motor.
Brands importing vehicles from India and Thailand have not faced the same disruption. Their dealers have continued deliveries according to existing bookings.
The Kaligandaki Corridor stretches 202 kilometers from Maldhunga in Parbat district to Korala on the Nepal-China border.
Around 22 kilometers of the road in Myagdi district remain in particularly poor condition. Heavy traffic from container trucks has also damaged road surfaces, creating potholes along the route.
Tejaswi Sharma of the Kaligandaki Corridor (Beni-Jomsom-Korala) Road Project said six pieces of equipment had been kept on standby to support road maintenance and ensure smoother traffic movement.
“The floods and landslides blocked the road at 55 locations. We worked around the clock and reopened it on Friday. Traffic is now operating in both directions,” Sharma told Meroauto.
He added that heavy container traffic had damaged sections of the road, prompting the project to keep equipment ready to fill potholes and address other problems.
According to Sharma, more than 500 containers and around 350 EVs had reached the Beni area in the four days following the reopening. The figures are estimates, as official vehicle-wise data were not available.
With shipments moving again, dealers are racing to deliver vehicles before Dashain. However, the condition of the road and the remaining transit backlog will determine how many customers receive their vehicles before the festival.
