Chile sets deadlines for electromobility plan

Chile is advancing with its electromobility strategy by setting a 2035 deadline to phase out sales of light, public transport and mining vehicles with internal combustion engines, a plan that also includes tax incentives and manufacturing local vehicles.

“Nowadays there are companies that are in the process of building the first electric buses 100% made in our country, which will begin operating over the next months,” transport undersecretary José Luis Dominguez told BNamericas.

By 2040, all sales of small equipment used in construction, agriculture and forestry will also be required to use only non-internal combustion engines, while by 2045 the requirement will also affect freight transport vehicles and inter-urban buses.

To promote the measures, the government will introduce a bill in the coming days that includes tax incentives for companies such as importers of electric vehicles, energy minister Juan Carlos Jobet said while presenting the plan in Santiago.  

Transport minister Gloria Hutt highlighted the tenders for new electric bus corridors in Antofagasta and Valparaíso, while adding that there are plans for a new one for San Antonio.

Hutt told BNamericas that the electromobility strategy is also coordinated with rail projects, as the objective is to promote zero emission energies in trains and the metro.

“We’re also focusing on urban logistics, which entail multiple trips and we’re pushing so that those trips involve non-contaminating vehicles,” she said.