In the ongoing dispute between Kuenphen Motors and taxi drivers owning Neta and MG ZS model electric vehicles, the Thimphu District court has dismissed the compensation claim against Kuenphen Motors. The judgment passed on Friday stated that Kuenphen Motors is not liable to pay any compensation. The judgement specified that the taxi drivers did not lodge a complaint within a reasonable time.
According to the judgment, UNDP, the Prime Minister’s Office and experts from Kuenphen Motors have provided the taxi drivers with an awareness programme on the impact of Bhutan’s geographical and weather conditions on the car’s battery.
The judgement also stated that the drivers of both the EV brands did not lodge a complaint within a reasonable time. While some complained only after six months, a few of them did it only after more than a year.
According to the judgment, Kuenphen Motors is now not liable to even pay Nu 30,000 to the EV owners as initially directed by the Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority, CCAA.
Unhappy with this decision of the CCAA, Kuenphen Motors and EV drivers appealed the case to the district court in August this year.
While CCAA dismissed the drivers’ request for vehicle replacement or a refund equivalent to the cost of components that were missing, the authority had asked Khuenphen Motors to pay Nu 30,000 each to all the EV owners as compensation for failing to deliver the vehicles as initially advertised.
Around 90 Electric Vehicle Taxi drivers filed a complaint with the CCAA against Kuenphen Motors in April this year for mileage range issues with the two brands of Electric vehicle models, MG ZS and Neta.
With regard to the MG ZS model, the complainants alleged that Kuenphen Motors had marketed MG electric cars that can provide a total mileage of 419 km. The complainants had accused the electric cars of failing to deliver the promised mileage range.
Further, the complainant also alleged that there are differences between the variants of the MG ZS EV. During the time of order, they were shown the MG ZS UK version. However, they delivered the Sri Lanka version with different features.
As for the Neta EV model, the pre-booking form showed a mileage range of 401 km while the car delivered could run only up to 384 km. There were also differences between specifications.
While Kuenphen Motors said that they acknowledge the judgment passed by the Thimphu District Court, the taxi drivers claimed that they will appeal the case to the high court soon.
Samten Dolkar
Edited by Sangay Chezom
