58 showrooms shut down following ban on vehicle import

With the government banning imports, various vehicle showrooms have been shut down across the country. Since the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply published a notice in the gazette on April 26(Baishak 13) regarding shortage foreign exchange reserves, the vehicle import could not be carried out. As a result, 58 showrooms of two and four-wheeler companies have been closed across the country. According to NADA Automobiles Association of Nepal, 95 more showrooms are likely to be closed down soon.

There are 1025 showrooms of various vehicles across the country. According to NADA data, 9 showroom have been closed in Province 1, 11 in Madhes, 18 in Bagmati, 7 in Gandaki, 3 in Lumbini, 7 in Karnali and 3 in Far West. Along with this, the employees working in those showrooms have become unemployed. Operating showroom have also started sending employees home on unpaid leave. NADA president Dhruv Thapa says that 30 percent of the employees working in his company have been cut.

At most, 32 showrooms in Bagmati are in a state of closure. 18 in Province 1, 13 in Madhes, 8 in Gandaki, 13 in Lumbini, 7 in Karnali and 4 in Sudurpaschim Province are in the process of closure. There is an investment of more than 1 trillion rupees in the automobiles sector. There are about 100,000 direct jobs in this sector. According to NADA, there was a loss of 1 billion rupees due to the closure of the Showroom. Except for electric vehicles, almost all showrooms have cut jobs. Nepal imports various goods worth 16 trillion rupees annually. Cars, jeeps, vans and motorcycles above 150 cc are imported worth around 18 billion rupees.