The Department of Transport Management (DoTM) registered 169,613 units of vehicles during the period this year, compared to 145,254 units registered in the corresponding period last year.
According to the DoTM data, every segment excepting for the pick-up and tractor-power trailer categories posted growths.
Officials of Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) -- the umbrella organization of auto dealers, however says sales wasn't that encouraging during the period despite the increase in registration.
"Overall, sales have remained tepid. However the demand for cars priced below Rs 2.5 million and motorcycles has been increasing, so probably these segments pushed up auto registrations," Gopi Neupane, the general secretary of NADA told Republica.
As per the data, 501 more units were registered under the car/jeep/van segment in the eight months of this year than last year while the increase in two-wheelers' registration was 21,354 units during the period.
Neupane says bank and financial institutions (BFIs) are favoring auto loans for entry-level and mid-range vehicles over luxury and high-end ones, thereby increasing sales of vehicles under these two segments.
Besides easy financing, Neupane also attributes the rise in vehicles to the increasing of the road network, signs of political stability, lack of proper mass transportation system and the increasing of purchasing capacity of people.
"As most of the auto dealers come up with lucrative consumer offers targeting the New Year, we expect sales of two-wheelers and four-wheelers to go up 15 percent in the nearest future," Neupane adds.
The data reveals that the automobile segments like microbus, bus, mini-bus/mini truck, and crane/dozer/excavator say impressive growths. While the registration of microbuses increased by 509 units to 611 during the first eight months of Fiscal Year 2014/15, registration in the mini-bus /mini truck segment increased by 410 units to 1,288.
Similarly, 2,375 units of buses were registered until mid-March this year against 1,672 units registered during the corresponding period last year. Likewise, registration under the crane/dozer/excavator segment increased by 560 units to 2,467.
Meanwhile, the registration under pick-up and tractor-power trailer segments went down by 536 units and 20 units to 4,239 units and 6,931 units respectively.
Registration of vehicles in Bagmati zone -- the main market for automobiles -- increased by 1,962 units during the period to 52,035 units.
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