The government’s Electric Vehicle Project is facing a new hurdle. The project aims to replace 300 fossil fuel taxis in the country with EV cabs. However, a group of taxi drivers who have signed up to procure electric vehicles under the project don’t have the money since they have been denied loans by the authorized bank. The reason for the rejection is due to high non-performing loans after the previous EV purchasers failed to pay their loans.
Thirty-one newly arrived electric vehicles have been lying in the showroom in wait for their new owners. The vehicles arrived more than two weeks ago. They are the fourth batch of vehicles to arrive under the Bhutan Sustainable Low Emission Urban Transport System project, popularly known as the Electric Vehicle Project.
Meanwhile, the 31 cabbies who ordered these electric vehicles say they cannot take ownership of the new vehicles due to no fault of their own. They say the Bank of Bhutan has denied them the 70 per cent vehicle loan since 8 people from the earlier batches failed to pay their monthly loan instalments which resulted in the loans becoming non-performing.
A loan becomes an NPL when the repayment becomes due for more than 90 days.
To add to their woes, they have also sold off their old vehicles to pay for the EVs.
“We went to the bank but they didn’t give us the loan saying there is no loan. We are facing a difficult situation,” said Sangay Dorji, who drives a taxi in Gelephu. “We came from far away and don’t even have a proper place to stay. We are staying in the hotel. Everyone knows what it is like to stay in a hotel in Thimphu.”
“Eighteen days after we insured our vehicle, we are sent from one office to another and for people like us, it is really difficult,” said Pelden from Nganglam in Pema Gatshel.
“We are facing this issue due to the stoppage of the loan. We are humble people and came from far places. It is difficult for us in Thimphu,” said Nado, a cabbie from Gedu. “We will be thankful to the government if we are given the loan as soon as possible.”
The Bank of Bhutan, which is the project’s authorized bank to provide loans, did not want to comment.
The Electric Vehicle Project says they are trying to sort out the matter with the Bank. The office said the BoB’s NPL currently stands at 4.4 per cent which is over the threshold of three per cent. The Project said the bank has refused to give out loans for the EVs until the NPL issue is resolved.
Meanwhile, Kuenphen Motors, which is one of the dealers for the EV project, shared its own set of problems. The company said they take loans to import the vehicles and that all the vehicles had to be paid fully upfront. The owner said the company incurs interest for the delay in payments.
The project, started in 2018, promised to provide taxi drivers with a 20 per cent subsidy along with a 70 per cent collateral-free bank loan. 230 electric vehicle taxis have replaced fossil fuel cabs under the project so far.
Changa Dawa
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
