EV owners says a lot to be done before Govt invests billions in EVs

EV project was aimed at promoting sustainable transport. However, EV owners are not dissatisfied as they share several issues.

Yeshey Tshering, coordinator of MG5 EV taxi drivers, highlighted the need for addressing the issues faced by existing EV owners to align with the government’s plans to expand the usage of EVs and buses.

A major grievance among EV owners is the pricing practices of dealers, with many expressing disappointment over the discrepancy between promised higher range vehicles and the lower range vehicles received.

Moreover, the lack of spare parts availability for repairs post-accidents or damages adds to the challenges faced by EV owners.

“Limited charging station is an issue. Paro, being a tourism destination, most EV drivers stay there as tourist avail our service. However, since there is only one charging station there, there were instances where 15 of us lined up for charging and sometimes staying whole night. In an empty battery it takes almost 2 hours to charge an EV.”

Also, several EV owners shared that if the government can explore on bringing EVs of higher ranging from 500 km or higher. As of now, our country has BYD’s and 6 MG5 EVs with range of 500 km. These EVs can travel longer distance.

As of charging stations there is availability of Direct Current (DC) but less Alternating Current (AC). AC is the slow charging, and mostly recommended and DC is least recommended as frequent use can result in reduced battery lifespan and efficiency.

Further, the issue with most of the charging stations in Bhutan is the lack of capacity while charging high range EVs like BYD and Tata Nexon. They charge in same stations where normal EVs charge and once these vehicles charge the next EVs rarely get opportunity as the charging stations malfunction or does not work.

Additionally, the scarcity of technical specialists for EV maintenance in the country poses a significant challenge for resolving issues promptly.

Financial burdens also weigh heavily on EV owners, with monthly payments reaching Nu 29,500 for MG5 EV owners, impacting their ability to cover costs when passenger numbers are low.

EV owner shared if government can carry a thorough survey before they make further purchase.

One EV owner shared that as few tourist also prefer travelling in EV, if there were collaborations with tourism it would benefit them in lessening their financial burdens.

He shared that he was lucky enough to be the part of 20 percent subsidy which lasted till 2023 and after him there are no subsidy.

Under the project of implementation of National Capital Region (NCR), there is a proposal for Transport and Mobility Improvement with a cost of Nu 2,000 million proposed under PTA and Bhutan Green Transport Project partly funded by Green Climate Fund, which will be led by MoIT.

The government’s ambitious plans to expand the adoption of electric vehicles and buses are part of the Bhutan Sustainable Low Emission Urban Transport System project, which began in 2019.

Despite offering a 20 percent subsidy and loan facilities for EV purchases, the current pricing structure ranging from Nu 1.5 million to Nu 3 million poses financial challenges for prospective buyers.