On July 8th, floods and mudslides occurred at the border between China and Nepal, causing the collapse of the cross-border bridge supported by the Chinese Communist Party – the Resso Bridge in Jilong Port, Shigatse City in Tibet, which had been completed just 6 years ago. The entire bridge structure was washed away, with hundreds of electric vehicles imported from China parked in the border area, impacting cross-border trade between the two countries.
This flood event also showcased the massive entry of Chinese electric vehicles into the Nepalese market to the outside world. The economic motives behind China’s massive dump of electric vehicles and the political expansion ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party once again raised concerns.
In a report by the Chongqing Daily on June 16th of this year, Karan Chaudhary, Chairman of the Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), stated at a China-ASEAN automotive industry seminar that the market share of Chinese electric vehicles in Nepal reaches as high as 95%.
According to the People’s Daily of China, based on Nepalese customs data, from the fiscal year 2023 to 2024, Nepal imported approximately 11,700 electric vehicles, with around 8,000 of them coming from China, accounting for nearly 70%.
In 2024, Xiamen King Long Automobile Body Co., Ltd. of China announced an investment of 3 billion Nepalese Rupees to establish an electric vehicle assembly plant in Nepal, importing technology and equipment from China.
As early as late April 2022, Nepalese media reported that Sundar Auto Engineering Pvt Ltd, an affiliate of Sundar Transport Pvt Ltd in Nepal, had begun production of electric vehicles in Nepal. Two years ago, Sundar Auto invested approximately 1 billion Nepalese Rupees and teamed up with Sichuan Guohong Automobile to establish an assembly plant in the Rupandehi District Butwal Industrial Zone, importing parts to assemble electric vehicles, with the Chinese side holding an 80% stake.
A few years ago, the electric vehicle market in Nepal was mainly dominated by South Korean brands Hyundai and Kia. From 2020 to 2022, Tata Motors, India’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer, disrupted the local market dynamics by introducing the compact SUV Tata Nexon, surpassing South Korean brands to claim the top spot. However, starting from 2022, Chinese brands such as BYD and MG took the lead in the import electric vehicle market in Nepal with their low prices and diverse range of vehicle models.
Dai Zhiyan, a deputy researcher at the International Economics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Economic Research, told Dajiyuan that most Chinese car manufacturers lack the ability to establish factories overseas and rely on establishing a local dealer network instead. These dealerships may also have Chinese backing and look for ways to operate under local names. Many local companies have seen their equity significantly acquired by Chinese enterprises, considered a significant achievement in terms of attracting investment by local governments.
In October 2024, a post on the local Nepalese media fiscalnepal.com criticized that “Nepal has become a dumping ground for low-quality Chinese electric cars: the risks of fires and non-compliance are shocking.” The report highlighted concerns about Nepal becoming a testing ground for Chinese electric cars, citing low standards, unreliable charging infrastructure, and frequent safety risks as causing serious public safety concerns.
The article mentioned incidents such as a Seres 3 electric vehicle (EV) with the license plate number Bagmati Province 01-029 Cha 5950 catching fire in Sitapaila, Kathmandu that month. Another similar fire involving a Chinese electric vehicle had also occurred in Budanilkantha. Likewise, a MG electric vehicle caught fire while charging.
With multiple fire incidents involving Chinese electric vehicles, experts and consumers now question the long-term sustainability and safety of these Chinese electric cars. Authorities must take swift action to prevent Nepal from becoming a dumping ground for defective and dangerous Chinese electric cars.
However, this article was later taken down.
In April this year, South Asian Web reported according to the Republic report, that individuals called for clear standards to be set for electric vehicles imported into Nepal. The Nepal Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) expressed concern during a car dialogue event that unrestricted import of various electric vehicles might turn Nepal into a dumping ground. The report did not explicitly mention China.
Dai Zhiyan stated that some of the doubts from the Nepalese public or media may be suppressed by either official Nepalese or Chinese authorities. Without a local group or company coming forward to criticize the damages caused by Chinese dumping on Nepal’s interests, these criticisms may not have much effect.
In recent years, China has aggressively expanded its presence in the global electric vehicle market. According to a report by the Chongqing Daily on June 16th, NIO has delivered over 730,000 electric vehicles in some countries and regions in the Middle East. In 2024, Chinese brand new energy vehicles sold over 110,000 units in Brazil, accounting for 65% of the market share. Chinese car companies have even set up operations or factories in Hungary, Turkey, Spain, and other countries.
Dai Zhiyan pointed out that Chinese manufacturers may currently adopt different quality standards for AI-equipped electric vehicles in different markets. To meet Europe’s high standard collision safety requirements, they have conducted better safety protection tests in recent years. However, in developing countries like Nepal, they might resort to different quality standards.
He further explained that the main difference lies in cost; in countries like Nepal, which are part of South Asia, even basic collision tests are not regulated, unlike in the US, Europe, or even China where passing collision tests is a prerequisite for market entry.
Dai Zhiyan added that he has seen some internal documents from the Chinese industry revealing concerns about using inferior materials, such as some emerging car manufacturers using compromised materials. For example, the front impact steel beam of certain Chinese brand cars is merely a piece of metal, just a shape, which could be dangerous in case of a collision.
In recent years, the Chinese government has heavily subsidized the development of domestic electric vehicles to dominate the international market. However, with the rapid expansion of the Chinese electric vehicle industry, incidents of explosions, malfunctioning doors, and fatal accidents have become frequent within China. Issues with so-called intelligent driving have also grown. The Chinese authorities and car manufacturers often suppress internal criticism and even resort to public security measures.
On the evening of March 29th this year, a Xiaomi SU7 crashed into a cement pile on a highway section in Tongling, Anhui, caught fire, leading to the death of three female college students on board.
On April 4th, in Shantou, Guangdong, a BYD pure electric bus suddenly emitted billowing white smoke from the interior. Students on board hastily evacuated the vehicle, calling out, “Run, run quickly,” as chaos ensued. A video shared by netizens captured the moment, with one saying, “It’s really scary, BYD just caught fire.” (video link)
Video footage also showed a BYD car parked in the middle of the road, with flames engulfing the front end and thick smoke billowing.
On June 1st, Malaysian local media reported that due to an electric vehicle abruptly catching fire and stopping without warning, there was almost an accident. The owner, Izzwan Hashim, announced that BYD had fully repurchased his Atto 3 electric SUV after not even a year of purchase. Izzwan posted on Facebook, stating that considering family safety, he decided to give up the electric car, despite having paid several months of instalments and incurring some losses.
According to multiple foreign media reports, a cargo ship named “Morning Midas” flying the Liberian flag, departed from Yantai Port heading to the west coast of Mexico, caught fire near Eddak Island, Alaska, on June 3rd. The crew had to abandon ship as the fire couldn’t be extinguished. The ship was carrying 3,000 Chinese-made cars, including approximately 800 electric cars. It is known that the vehicles on board were from various Chinese automakers, including Chery Automobile, Great Wall Motors, but the brand of the electric car causing the fire remains unclear.
There has been a long-standing diplomatic competition between Beijing and New Delhi to gain political influence in Nepal. India refused to fly to the recently completed international airports in Bhairawa and Pokhara, in Nepal, citing Nepalese loans received from China. India also explicitly stated that it would not purchase electricity from the Nepalese hydroelectric projects constructed by China.
China has invested heavily in Nepal’s infrastructure in recent years. The Pokhara International Airport is one of the flagship projects of the Chinese Communist Party’s Belt and Road Initiative and began operations on January 1, 2023. The airport was built with a loan of $216 million provided by the Export-Import Bank of China. In August 2024, the Nepalese government proposed converting this loan into a grant to reduce debt burden. Additionally, controversy arose in April 2025 over issues of low-quality materials being used in the project.
Dai Zhiyan mentioned that many Belt and Road countries have debt disputes with China; ultimately, crucial facilities in these countries end up controlled by Chinese companies. The Belt and Road Initiative clearly has not achieved the supposed win-win outcome and looks more like Beijing’s expansion abroad. However, the quality of projects constructed by Chinese companies is a concern. For instance, amidst an earthquake in Myanmar, the auditorium built by a Chinese company in Thailand collapsed.
On July 9th, a commentary article by Brahim Karki was published in Nikkei News stating that as Chinese automakers surpass Indian brands to become the largest car sellers in Nepal, India’s long-standing dominance in the Nepalese car market has vanished. The push of Chinese electric vehicles is part of Beijing’s deepening geostrategic move in South Asia, challenging India’s traditional dominance in Himalayan countries.
Dai Zhiyan remarked that India’s car manufacturing industry is powerful but lacks a complete vehicle and component system like China. However, China’s electric vehicle industry itself faces many issues. Due to continuous interference by officials rather than respecting market operations, implementing various subsidies and policies has led to misallocation of resources.
“Although China is now a major player in the automotive industry, the industry itself is very chaotic, and once a price war starts, it can last two to three years, with no one willing to back down,” he said.
He believes that under China’s system, the phenomena of exporting large quantities of low-priced products to foreign markets are unavoidable. “Many companies are selling at a loss; it’s essentially a misallocation of resources.”
Since last year, the US and the EU have implemented anti-dumping sanctions against Chinese electric vehicles.
Political commentator Li Lin told Dajiyuan that despite overproduction, the decision to export overseas is a part of Beijing’s own expansionist policies.
In recent years, Western countries have realized that electric vehicles with AI capabilities pose security risks for collecting customer information and transmitting it to China, with overseas Chinese companies having espionage capabilities.
Political analyst and veteran media person Shi Shan previously told Dajiyuan that the West often overlooks a key point: the Chinese regime is a different kind, with its political economy fundamentally following the old Soviet model until today. Its political and economic system is actually a ‘war economy system’, as ‘the CCP believes that military capabilities are closely related to production capabilities’.