Kathmandu: Nepal`s Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has chosen an unglamorous official vehicle assembled in Nepal to ferry him around.
Dr Bhattarai, who was sworn in on Monday, has chosen an unfancied Golchha Mustang as his official vehicle, the BBC reports.
Not to be confused with its namesake in the US, the Mustang is made from parts imported from India and China. Fewer than 1,000 have been sold in Nepal.
His decision to choose a Nepalese-made vehicle has won praise from the media.
Ideally suited to Nepal`s pot-holed roads, the competitively priced Mustang has none of the luxurious trappings of previous prime ministerial vehicles.
Its unostentatious reputation, however, makes it perhaps the ideal choice for a Maoist prime minister who has said that one of his top priorities is the eradication of poverty.
Even so, the authorities were a little surprised when the newly-elected prime minister turned his back on a lavish sports utility vehicle (SUV) and instead asked to be provided with a Mustang.
Equally surprised were the makers of the vehicle - Golchha Motors.
For 14 years, they had been quietly assembling cars - including the Mustang and the Sherpa - in Nepal, selling around 1,000 of those vehicles.
Dr Bhattarai`s request received saturation coverage in the media - with many praising him for promoting a Nepali product.
The company is now expecting a marketing bonanza.
ANI
