Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure startup Vemo will focus its operations on Mexico by directing its total capital expenditure (capex) to its home country.
The company when funded in 2021 was originally earmarked to operate in Mexico and Central America, but Vemo's $1bn capex through 2028 will now go entirely to build up its Mexican operations.
Vemo has expanded its EV charging network from 500 stations in 2023 to 1,000 stations this year across the country, as well as developed corporate EV fleets for passenger and last-mile delivery trucks. It has also worked with the public sector for the development of transportation projects.
Clients and partners include AB Inveb, the Metrobus BRT system in Mexico City, Liverpool department stores, concrete conglomerate Cemex, Coca-Cola Femsa and a lease-to-own driver program with ride-hailing service Uber.
The strategy shift is due to Mexico's now maturing EV marketand its potential for growth in different segments, co-founders Roberto Rocha and German Losada told Argus. Losada added that 50pc of the $1bn would go to developing charging infrastructure alone.
Rocha estimates demand of electricity for EVs within their network will rise to 400MW, reflecting growing demand for EVs in Mexico, "It's very hard to estimate the specifics of the evolution of the market overall and the demand for megawatts in particular, but we know the market will grow significantly."
Mexican automaker association AMIA recently reported EV and hybrid sales were 7.9pc of all car sales in Mexico in March — the latest month with data. That said, only about 18pc of this segment represents 100pc EVs.
The growth in EVs and reliance on charging stations will eventually have an impact on traditional gasoline and diesel prices and demand, according to Rocha, but it is nearly impossible to know when or to what extent this will happen, he added.
