Agency: In a move to tackle challenges related to electric vehicle (EV) maintenance and related issues Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Chandra Bdr Gurung, shared that the ministry is focusing on strengthening the supply chain and Point-of-Sale (POS) infrastructure.
Lyonpo Chandra Bdr Gurung said that this involves a comprehensive review of the entire EV logistics chain, and identify bottlenecks and encourage greater supplier participation. The goal is to foster competition and break existing monopolies, ultimately ensuring a wider range of EV parts and services are readily available to consumers.
Currently, a total of 620 EVs are registered in the country, with 300 EVs being taxis.
The adoption of EVs has been spurred by a subsidized loan scheme under the UNDP-funded project, ‘Bhutan Low Emission Urban Transport System.’ This scheme has provided a 20 percent subsidy and facilitated 70 percent collateral-free loans in collaboration with the Bank of Bhutan (BoB). Only an initial deposit of 10 percent was covered by the taxi drivers.
However, challenges have emerged. Currently, 10 EV breakdowns and 71 loan defaulters have been reported, primarily due to issues such as EV accidents and breakdowns often face delays due to limited parts and skilled technicians, vehicle dealers failing to deliver EVs on time and sale of EV taxis without official ownership transfer with the BCTA or information to the FIs.
He shared that while not all loan defaulters have genuine reasons, such as vehicle damage and lack of essential spare parts, the Department of Surface Transport (DoST) under the ministry in collaboration with the BoB has reviewed and supported loan deferment for 8 EV taxi drivers with genuine reasons within the current framework.
The ministry is working with FIs, government and vehicle dealers to implement risk mitigation measures. This includes an MoU with vehicle dealers requiring them to supply spare parts and perform maintenance within a defined timeframe. If dealers fail to fulfill these obligations, the EV driver’s loan repayment will be pursued from the dealers.
