Two-wheeler assembly plants: A prospective venture

Published On: June 29, 2019 08:16 AM NPT By: Nikeeta Gautam


KATHMANDU, June 29: The enterprise of assembling two-wheelers within the country is gradually growing, with three assembly plants already in operation and one in the process of establishment. 

The assembly plants of Bajaj, Bela, and Benling brands are already well into the production process, whereas Jagadamba Motors has announced that its assembly plant for TVS is under construction for the last seven months. 

Khil Prasad Sharma, marketing officer of Benling Motors, an electric two-wheeler company, said that their assembly plant was established in April 2018 and it has produced 400 bikes till now. 
According to a report of Hulas Auto Craft, Bajaj Auto’s Nepal distributor, the company has opened a state-of-the-art assembly plant for its HH Bajaj Unit, in Ramgram, Nawalparasi. This plant has a capacity of producing 300 bikes per shift, the report says.

Jagadamba Motors, whose assembly plant is in the final phase of establishment in Simra, has a target to start producing bikes by mid-September. The assembly plant is being established with the cost of Rs 1billion. Jagadamba has plans to manufacture 100,000 bikes per year. 
More than a decade ago, an assembly plant of Anna Lifan, a Chinese bike, was opened in Nepal. It has already been closed. 

Shambhu Dahal, President of Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), said that the prospect was high for popular two-wheeler brands to establish their assembly plants in Nepal. 
“Brands like TVS are already established and self-sustainable, so their assembling in Nepal will further foster their business,” he said.

Bela Motors, which is an electric two-wheeler brand, has also been assembling bikes for the last one year. According to Rajesh Maharjan from the accounts department of the company, Bela has been running a plant in Baluwatar of Kathmandu at the initial phase; and the company is planning to shift the plant to Hetauda very soon. 

“We have assembled around 200 bikes till now,” he said. “One challenge for the company is the lack of skilled human resource for assembling electric vehicles.” 

Besides, availability of spare parts is also an issue for the company. “We import all the spare parts because parts suitable for different kinds of two-wheelers are not available here. Also, they may not be available all the time,” he said. 

He said that it was around 20%-30% cost efficient to assemble bikes here than import them from abroad. 

Two-wheelers have been a convenient mode of transport in Nepal for basically two reasons: poor public transport system and poor road conditions. For that reason, establishing two-wheeler assembly plants within the country may give lots of opportunity for entrepreneurs. 

Data from the Department of Transport Management shows that 2,530,722 motorcycles have been registered till mid-February 2018.  According to the department, only 34,576 two-wheelers were registered until 1990-1991. The massive increase of imports in this period shows the immense market of two-wheelers in Nepal.


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