Light electric vehicles nearing 10% of total car sales in Brazil

Light electric vehicles are expected to account for 8% of total car sales in Brazil in 2024, up from 4% last year, predicts the CEO of Tupi Mobilidade, Davi Bertoncello.

The estimate takes into account plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), battery electric vehicles (BEV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). 

According to the most recent data from local electric vehicle association ABVE, a total of 122,548 light electric vehicles have been sold so far this year, up from 93,927 in 2023.

Bertoncello, who is also an ABVE board member, said that the country has the world's fastest curve in the adoption of light electric vehicles. 

“This year we're already at 7% [of sales], and we should end the year at 8%. This is a percentage that helps countries unlock technologies,” Bertoncello told BNamericas. 

“BYD alone has already announced the production of up to 150,000 electric cars in Brazil next year,” he said. 

After taking over the former Ford plant in Bahia, the Chinese company began building its own plant this year and is scheduled to start operations in early 2025. 

Bertoncello said that, along with Mexico, Brazil is the top destination for Chinese automakers, after the US imposed tariff barriers on the Chinese. 

According to ABVE, 2023 was the best year for electromobility in Brazil, with sales of light electric vehicles (PHEV+BEV+HEV) growing by more than 50% in all regions compared with 2022. Today, there are around 400,000 electric vehicles circulating in the country. 

The southeast region continued to lead sales growth (+101%), but the northeast also performed well (+91%), followed by the south (+82%), center-west (+73%) and north (+67%).

To keep up with the increasing number of electric vehicles on the streets, Tupi Mobilidade is working with partners to expand the national connected charging network. 

Considering the period between February 2020 and February 2024, there was a 1,452% increase in the number of charging stations, from just over 500 in 2020 to nearly 10,700 in 2024. 

That figure includes public, semi-public and private chargers. Of the total, 2,800 points are mapped by the Tupi app, which has commercial agreements with 120 companies, including gas stations, banks, hypermarkets, shopping malls, etc.

Bertoncello says that the ratio between charging points and electric vehicles in the country is adequate, but he warns about factors such as the quality, power, speed and connectivity of the chargers, as well as their geographical distribution. 

“Brazil is a continent. São Paulo has 3,500 charging points, which is very good, but outside of there, the realities are different. It's important to work to avoid leaving 'gray zones' to ensure that there are chargers every 100km, for example, to travel from one point to another,” he explained. 

Bertoncello added that of the roughly 400,000 light electric vehicles in the country, fewer than half – approximately 166,000 – are BEV and PHEV models. In other words, the majority (HEV), which are electrified by regenerative braking, are not recharged via a plug-in connection.  

“But HEVs have been falling in share, losing ground to plug-in electrification,” he said. 

Although he recognizes the value of the federal Mover program to stimulate electromobility, Bertoncello believes that the initiative does not solve all the sector's challenges. 

“Electromobility has to be very vigilant and go hand in hand with authorities to guarantee equal competition. Otherwise, the country runs the risk of missing the window of opportunity for electromobility,” the executive underscored.