EV scarcity complicating CentAm transport decarbonization

Pandemic-related supply chain problems are limiting the availability of electric vehicles for Central American countries, making the decarbonization of transport matrices even more difficult.

“Honduras wants to substitute 500 buses; in Guatemala there is a tender to buy 1,000 but only one Chinese company has responded: BYD. So that tender can’t move forward with just one participant,” Dante Mossi, the head of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (Cabei), told BNamericas.

"Nicaragua told us it wants to publish a decree to make sure all vehicles that are purchased from now on are electric. We have the funds, but we don’t have offers," he added.

Cabei is organizing an event on electromobility in Central America in Washington D.C. on November 21. 

“The idea is to connect offers and demands, we will have guests from the US government, we have North American suppliers like Tesla, GM, Arcimoto, and we are awaiting a confirmation from Ford,” Carlos Gómez, who oversees the event, told BNamericas.