Nepal’s automobile market has long been driven by imports. In the two-wheeler segment, Indian and Chinese brands have a particularly strong presence, with local companies largely involved in distribution and sales rather than designing and developing vehicles themselves.
The shift towards electric mobility, however, is creating some room for a different approach.
That is where the partnership between Nepali electric motorcycle maker Yatri and Sipradi Trading comes in.
The two companies have joined hands to develop and manufacture the Yatri P-2, an electric scooter designed and engineered in Nepal. For Sipradi, the project marks its entry into the two-wheeler market. For Yatri, it is an opportunity to take its experience in vehicle design and engineering into a new product and work with one of Nepal’s established automobile companies.
But the partnership did not begin simply with the idea of launching another electric scooter.
Sipradi had been looking to enter the two-wheeler market for some time. The company, which has been involved in Nepal’s automobile sector for more than four decades, had a presence across several parts of the automotive business but did not have a two-wheeler product.
The question was what kind of product it should bring to the market.
Rather than adding another imported brand to its portfolio, Sipradi decided to look at electric two-wheelers and, eventually, at the possibility of developing one in Nepal.
“We wanted to come into two-wheelers with a product that could contribute to the country,” Sipradi CEO Rajan Babu Shrestha said.
The decision was also influenced by the changing automobile market. Electric mobility was gaining momentum globally, while Nepal was increasingly moving towards electric vehicles. But there was another consideration.
Many electric two-wheelers available in Nepal were developed for markets outside the country. Sipradi believed there was an opportunity to develop a product with Nepal’s roads and riding conditions specifically in mind. That search led the company to Yatri.
Bringing two different strengths together
Yatri had already spent years building its identity around vehicle design and engineering. The company had developed electric motorcycles and built experience in areas ranging from vehicle architecture and software to battery systems and testing.
Sipradi brought a different set of strengths: decades of experience in the Nepali automobile market, distribution and service infrastructure, and an understanding of the local customer and market.
The two companies began working together, eventually agreeing to develop an electric scooter. The collaboration was important because neither company alone brought everything required for the project.
Yatri had the engineering and product-development experience. Sipradi had the scale, market knowledge and automotive business experience.
Together, they could attempt something that neither had previously done at this scale: develop a two-wheeler in Nepal and take it to the market.
The result was the P-2.
It starts with design, not assembly
Developing the scooter took more than two years.
The process began with design sketches before moving into computer simulations, component development, electrical testing, battery testing, chassis fabrication, assembly and road testing.
Yatri engineers simulated components such as the chassis and swingarm to understand how they would behave under stress and on rough roads. Physical components were then produced and tested, with data from road testing compared against the simulation results.
The electrical system was developed alongside the mechanical components. Yatri engineers designed the vehicle’s electrical architecture and developed a wiring harness containing more than 150 wires.
The company also developed the vehicle control unit, or VCU, which controls a range of functions within the scooter. The VCU board is manufactured in China but is programmed, tested and validated by Yatri engineers in Nepal.
The same approach can be seen across the scooter.
Not every component is manufactured in Nepal. Several technologically advanced components, including the motor and controller, are sourced from China. The batteries are currently assembled in Nepal using imported components under a semi-knocked-down model.
This is an important distinction when describing the P-2 as a Nepali-made vehicle.
It is not a scooter in which every component is produced domestically. Instead, its design, engineering, specifications, software, system development, testing and parts of its manufacturing process are being carried out in Nepal.
For an industry that has traditionally depended heavily on imported finished vehicles, that is still a significant change.
Why a two-wheeler?
There is a practical reason the project focused on two-wheelers.
Motorcycles and scooters are among the most widely used vehicles in Nepal. They are relatively affordable, easier to operate in congested cities and important for everyday transportation.
That makes the segment a useful starting point for local electric vehicle development.
It also gives companies like Yatri an opportunity to develop and test technology at a scale that is more achievable than trying to manufacture passenger cars from scratch.
The P-2 is available with three battery options—5.2 kWh, 3.7 kWh and 3 kWh—with the largest battery offering a claimed range of up to 157 kilometres.
Yatri has also been developing charging infrastructure alongside the scooter. The company says it has installed more than 20 charging stations across different parts of the country and is gradually expanding the network.
These are not just features intended to sell the scooter. They are also part of the practical challenge of making electric two-wheelers usable across Nepal.
What does it mean for Nepal’s automobile industry?
The significance of the Yatri-Sipradi partnership goes beyond the P-2 itself.
Nepal is still far from having a fully developed automobile manufacturing ecosystem. A large number of components have to be imported, and companies remain dependent on suppliers in countries such as China and India.
Manufacturing costs are also a challenge. Imported brands benefit from much larger production volumes and established supply chains, making it difficult for a relatively small Nepali manufacturer to compete on price.
There are regulatory challenges as well.
Developing a new vehicle locally can involve approval and certification processes that were not necessarily designed with locally developed vehicles in mind. Sipradi says these processes added time to the P-2 project.
But these are also the areas where the project could provide useful experience.
Developing a vehicle locally requires more than assembling parts. It requires engineers, testing systems, manufacturing processes, quality control and suppliers who can work to specific specifications.
The P-2 project is helping build some of that experience.
Yatri currently has production capacity of around 8,000 to 10,000 scooters a year and says it can increase capacity depending on demand. The company is also working towards greater local manufacturing, including plans to develop battery manufacturing infrastructure at Gajuri in Dhading.
That does not mean Nepal will soon stop importing automobile components or finished vehicles.
But it does provide a starting point.
A first step into a different kind of automobile industry
For Sipradi, the P-2 is the beginning of its two-wheeler business and its first major step into locally produced electric two-wheelers.
For Yatri, it is another stage in the company’s attempt to build vehicles in Nepal rather than simply sell into the Nepali market.
The partnership also reflects a broader change taking place in Nepal’s automobile industry.
The country is still heavily dependent on imported vehicles and components. But electric mobility is creating opportunities for local companies to participate in areas such as vehicle design, software, electronics, battery assembly and engineering.
The P-2 does not solve Nepal’s automobile manufacturing challenges. Nor is it completely independent of foreign supply chains.
What it does show is that a Nepali company can design and engineer a vehicle for local conditions, develop its systems, test it on Nepali roads and manufacture it locally with the support of an established automobile company.
The next question is how far that model can go.
If production volumes increase, more components can be localised and the supply chain around such vehicles develops, the impact could extend beyond one scooter.
For now, the P-2 is a relatively modest beginning.
But it is a beginning that puts design, engineering and manufacturing—not just importing and distributing vehicles—into the conversation about Nepal’s automobile industry.
