Chile drives electric vehicle rollout in Latin America
SANTIAGO, (Reuters) - A massive cargo ship docked in the Chilean port of San Antonio at the end of November, carrying it its belly the first 100 electric buses from China that Chileans hope will revolutionize their public transport system.
Chile’s ambitious plan to face down its capital Santiago’s notorious smog problem includes the rollout of electric scooters, cars and taxis, as well as lorries for use in the mining industry.
Mineral-rich Chile - which is not only the world’s largest copper producer but also the second-largest producer of lithium, a key component in electric vehicle batteries - aims to increase the number of electric vehicles tenfold by 2022.
Energy minister Susana Jiménez told Reuters the government wanted electric vehicles to account for 40 percent of Chile’s private fleet and 100 percent of public transportation on the roads by 2050.
The initiative puts Chile at the forefront of clean mobility in Latin America as well as among developing countries worldwide.
But it represents a significant challenge given the persistently high price of electric vehicles and the paucity of charging points in the country. Chile has just 40 public charging stations - half of them in Santiago, according to the energy ministry.
Enthusiasts of the new technology prefer to focus on the pluses of clean motoring, such as the reduction in noise and air pollution as well as lower fuel costs.
The operation and maintenance costs of an electric bus are also around 70 percent less than those of a diesel engine, according to Chile’s Ministry of Transport.
“Chile will be second only to China as a nation with the greatest quantity of electric buses in the world,” Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said at the start of November, when the government took delivery of six BMW i3 electric cars destined for ministerial use.
Studies by McKinsey and Bloomberg bear his claims out - of the 385,000 electric buses on the road worldwide last year, 99 percent are in China.
The Netherlands and Britain have more than 300 electric buses each but they are spread among several cities rather than concentrated in one, as will be the case in Santiago.