KATHMANDU, NOV 02 -Registration of new passenger cars soared in the first two months of the fiscal year mainly due to promotional schemes and easier auto loans.
According to the Department of Transport Management (DoTM), 1,663 vehicles were registered in the car/jeep/van category during the period mid-July to mid-September. The figure represents a jump of 31.25 percent year on year.
The rise in registrations has been attributed to increased pre-festival demand, incentive schemes launched by dealers and easier auto loans provided by banks. Banks have cut interest rates on hire purchase loans as they are awash in liquidity.
A total of 32,709 vehicles were registered during the review period, with two-wheelers making up 86.17 percent. Registration of buses dropped to 383 units from last year’s figure of 581.
During the same period last year, the department registered 30,918 vehicles including 26,431 two-wheelers and 1,267 passenger cars . Department officials said that the widening of city roads and availability of cheaper auto loans might have encouraged more people to buy automobiles.
“Lack of a good public transportation service is one of main reasons behind the growing sales of private vehicles such as cars and bikes,” said Sarad Adhikari, technical director at the department. He added that even though imports and registrations of new vehicles rose, the two-wheeler segment did not increase much as the test to get a driving licence has been made tougher. The department plans to permit its offices in Butwal and Nepalgunj to conduct driving tests and issue licences soon.
Registrations of bikes inched up 5 percent during the review period. Automobile dealers said that sales fell short of expectations in other parts of the country as the government did not implement the new trial system with adequate preparation. “Sales of four-wheelers have been good, but the bike segment has been sluggish despite being the festive season,” said Shekhar Golchha, president of the Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).
After slowing down in 2011-12, the automobile business made an impressive turnaround in the last fiscal year with registrations reaching an all-time high. A record 208,483 vehicles were registered in 2012-13. The last time registrations crossed the 200,000-mark was in 2009-10 when 201,787 automobiles were registered.
No comments:
Post a Comment