The scarcity of affordable electric vehicles (EV) for private consumers continues to hinder the expansion of electromobility in Latin America, delegates heard at the Climate Week NYC conference.
Some countries in the region have successfully launched different programs that switch internal combustion engine public transport to electric. Chile's capital Santiago is successfully expanding a network of electric buses. The Brazilian city of Sao Paulo is doing the same.
But progress on electromobility for private users continues lagging. Beyond incentives to promote the use of these vehicles, a lack of supply offered by automakers and high costs continue to be the main challenges to overcome.
"We need more [EV]offer," said Silvia Rojas, executive director at Costa Rica's electromobility association Asomove. "EVs are changing the way people buy their cars. Before they used to call their car dealers for availability of a specific EV model. But now they don't want to wait. They buy it from China or the US and import it to Costa Rica," she added.
Electric vehicles account for 11pc of total vehicles sold in Costa Rica, making it one of Latin American countries where the expansion of these vehicles is the most significant. Costa Rica has incentives to make EVs more affordable for consumers and a law that says charging points have to be distributed every 80km (50 miles) along highways, and every 120km on country roads.
The cost of buying an EV is another barrier as many consumers cannot afford these vehicles. "[Governments] should think about people and not about the automakers," Rojas said.
Carmakers should take into consideration the necessities of the Latin America region in both the private and public sector, according to Ricardo Javier Torres Hernandez, undersecretary for environment in the Mexican state of Queretaro. "We need a specific design of technology for Latin America," he added. Electric motorcycles or last-mile EV fleets could be a good opportunity to boost electromobility in the region.
The role of the global north is also important for Latin America if it wants to accelerate its transition to electric or low-carbon emissions vehicles.
Many consumers in Latin America use secondhand internal combustion vehicles with high pollution levels, originating from the EU or the US. Avoiding using the region as a dumpster for internal combustion engine cars could support this speed-up, Rojas said.
Last week, the Latin American association of sustainable mobility (Alamos) launched the Ruta Electrica Andina initiative that aims to boost the use of EVs by installing charging points on the highways of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to connect their capital cities.
