Hulas Auto-craft, a subsidiary of the Golchha Organisation, has been assembling the Bajaj Discover 125 two-wheeler made in India at a Rs700 million plant in Ramgram, Nawalparasi district.

Golchha Organisation Managing Director Shekhar Golchha said the newly established factory came online three months ago. The factory has a capacity of assembling 20-25 units daily. “We have also started selling the products in the domestic market,” Golchha said.

The Hulas factory is the second two-wheeler assembly plant in Nepal. The first was an assembly plant producing Chinese Anna Lifan motorcycles which shut down over a decade ago.

Three years ago, the Golchha Group registered its assembling plant under the name Hulas Auto-craft with the Department of Industry.

Motorcycle imports have been swelling by the year. As per the Department of Transport Management, registrations of motorcycles across the country jumped 32.5 percent to 354,071 units in the last fiscal year. Bajaj holds a 48-50 percent share of the motorcycle market in the country, it said.

Golchha set up the assembly plant with the aim of offering domestically value added products at cheaper prices, the company said.

“However, we are compelled to sell local products at the same price as imports due to high customs duty on vehicle components,” said Golchha. “We have to pay 30 percent import duty on automobile components while the excise duty has been subsidised nominally. As a result, there is a cost advantage of only 6-7 percent on the final product.”

Hulas Auto-craft employs 100 local workers. The company claims that the assembled motorbikes are of the same quality as imported ones. “All the components are supplied by Bajaj Auto Company in India and the plant is being operated under the direct supervision of the parent company,” Golchha said. Hulas Auto-craft offers a two-year service holiday to its customers. “Under the scheme, the cost of after sales service and spare parts will be born by the company for the period,” Golchha said. According to him, they plan to upgrade the plant to assemble the Bajaj Pulsar 150 in the next two years.