Nepal Car Market: August 2026 Recap
Monthly Recap
August was the busiest month Nepal's car market has seen in years. Two major auto shows, dozens of launches, a genuine EV price war and a mid-month price cut that shook the segment. If you missed any of it, here is everything that mattered, with the confirmed prices.
The month was bookended by Nepal's two big auto shows, run by rival associations two weeks apart at the same venue. NAIMA's Nepal Mobility Expo ran August 11 to 16, and NADA's Golden Jubilee Auto Show ran August 25 to 30. Between them, the Dongfeng Nammi cut its prices hard and set the tone for the whole month. Here is how it unfolded.
The month's most important launches
Prices are starting or introductory show figures. The premium end was busy too, with the Denza B5 (Rs 2.97 crore), MG Majestor (Rs 2.5 crore), Avatr 07 (Rs 2.20 crore), Skoda Kodiaq (Rs 2.199 crore) and Toyota RAV4 Hybrid (Rs 2.13 crore) all landing, along with the off-road BAIC BJ30e hybrid at around Rs 1.12 crore.
NAIMA Expo: the wave breaks
The Nepal Mobility Expo opened the month in style, drawing more than 180,000 visitors across six days and an estimated 4,000-plus bookings, despite a slowing economy and Tatopani border disruptions that kept some stock from the floor. Fifty-five brands showed up, and the launches came thick and fast.
At the affordable end, the Wuling MINIEV arrived as the cheapest four-wheeler EV of the show at Rs 19.99 lakh, the Chery QQ launched from Rs 30.99 lakh, and Tata cut the facelifted Punch EV to a Rs 33.99 lakh start. BYD refreshed its whole Atto range, adding a cheaper Atto 2 Essential at Rs 45.95 lakh and a redesigned 2026 Atto 3 at Rs 62.90 lakh. Petrol had a real presence too: Nissan opened bookings for the Patrol-inspired Tekton from Rs 51.29 lakh, and Hyundai launched the locally assembled new Venue from Rs 48.96 lakh. Toyota drew crowds with cash discounts of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 21 lakh on expo bookings, and BAIC launched its boxy BJ30e hybrid off-roader at around Rs 1.12 crore.
The mid-month bombshell: Nammi Vigo
Then, on August 19, MAW Vriddhi relaunched the Nammi Vigo E2 as a "Full SUV" at Rs 35.99 lakh, roughly Rs 6 to 8 lakh below the outgoing long-range Vigo. Crucially it kept the big 51.87 kWh battery and 350 km range, dropping only the sunroof to hit the price. A full-size, long-range electric SUV for hatchback money reset expectations across the segment, and every rival suddenly looked a little expensive.
NADA Auto Show: the encore
Two weeks later, NADA's Golden Jubilee show, its 50th anniversary edition, opened with Vice President Ramsahaya Prasad Yadav cutting the ribbon, more than 200 stalls and around 200,000 visitors expected. Floods in the Bhotekoshi area on the 27th briefly dented turnout before crowds recovered, and BYD and Yamaha were named among the five best stalls.
The launches kept coming. MAW Vriddhi launched the spacious Deepal Nevo Q05 from Rs 46.99 lakh and dropped the Nammi Box E2 to Rs 29.99 lakh. SPG Automobiles launched the Jaecoo J5 Pro at Rs 47.99 lakh, a smaller-battery, lower-price take on the J5. Proton showed the e.MAS 7 with a new 100 kW motor at Rs 49.99 to 59.99 lakh, and BYD added an Atto 2 Superior (Rs 51.99 lakh) and a more powerful Sealion 7 (Rs 92.99 lakh). At the top, Skoda launched the new Kodiaq (Rs 2.199 crore) and the luxury Avatr 07 arrived at Rs 2.20 crore.
NADA also brought a wave of fresh Chinese metal. Dongfeng launched the eπ 007, a sleek electric sedan badged the Nammi 007 in Nepal, at Rs 59.99 lakh, and BYD launched the plug-in hybrid Shark 6, a rugged lifestyle pickup with a claimed combined range near 840 km. Tata opened bookings for the Sierra.ev, its largest electric SUV yet, with Nepal pricing still to be confirmed, and the premium off-road Dongfeng MHero appeared as a display piece.
The theme of the month: the price war
Step back and one story runs through August: EV prices are falling fast, and they are doing it with smaller batteries. The Nammi Vigo, BYD's new Atto 2 Essential and the Jaecoo J5 Pro all reached lower prices by fitting a smaller pack, which is genuinely good news for buyers as long as you check the real range you end up with. At the same time, the tax change pushed the premium end sharply higher, which is why the crore-plus launches piled up. Dealers reported buyers shifting toward models below Rs 40 lakh, and the month's numbers reflected that: EV imports were down about 24 percent last fiscal year even as brand count and choice exploded.
What's still coming
September and beyond should bring the confirmed Nepal price for the Tata Sierra.ev, the updated BYD Atto 1, and the Deepal S03, among others. We will cover each as its real price lands. For now, August goes down as the month Nepal's car market got cheaper at the bottom, pricier at the top, and more crowded than ever in the middle.
Want the full spec sheets and current prices for any of these? Compare every car and EV in Nepal on NepalRoads.
A recap of confirmed developments through August 2026, cross-checked across multiple Nepal auto outlets. Prices are as announced by distributors; several are introductory or show-only offers and standard prices may be higher. The Tata Sierra.ev and BYD Shark 6 Nepal prices were not confirmed at the time of writing, and the BAIC BJ30e figure varies slightly between sources. Always confirm the current on-road price and warranty with the distributor before booking.
