A total of 118,191 hybrid and electric vehicles were registered in 2021 in Latin America, more than 100% compared to 2020, when 57,078 units were registered, according to data from the National Association of Sustainable Mobility of Colombia (Andemos) to DW.
Although the figures for Latin America are not comparable with those of the large European and Asian markets, the organization indicates that they have grown at an accelerated rate in recent years, as evidenced by the growth of more than 200% compared to the first quarter of 2021 in some countries in the region.
In the case of Brazil, electric vehicle sales grew by 331.6%; Ecuador, 315.8%; Mexico, 298.6%; Colombia, 229.4%; and Chile, 163.5%.
Colombia is the leader in sales, with 1,296 electric units registered in 2021, and 1,097 in the first three months of 2022, well above Mexico with 1,140 electric vehicles registered in 2021, and 570 in the first quarter of this year. It is worth noting that 5,586 fully electric vehicles are currently circulating in Colombia.
“In 2021, and for the fourth consecutive year, Colombia led the all-electric vehicle segment in the region. And by 2022, the figures point to the country having the leadership for the fifth time: in the first four months of the year, 1,331 units have been registered,” expressed Oliverio García, president of Andemos.
In relation to hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, Mexico ranks first with 42,447 hybrid units registered in 2021 and 3,492 plug-in hybrid units. It is followed by Brazil with 32,130 and 2,141 respectively; and then Colombia, with 14,694 hybrid vehicles and 1,712 plug-in hybrids registered in 2021.
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Charging stations
According to data from electromaps.com, Colombia already has 202 charging stations between public and private and 475 connectors, which means an increase of 30.3% for charging stations and 36.5% for connectors compared to October 2021.
Regarding the Latin American panorama, Andemos indicated that Colombia is among the three countries with the most stations, surpassed by Brazil and Chile with 282 and 248 respectively.
Uruguay and Ecuador, which have a much smaller area than the rest, have 90 and 58 stations respectively, while Argentina, despite its vehicle fleet, has 22 stations; Paraguay with 39, and Peru with 38. Venezuela and Bolivia have three stations each.
Among the Colombian cities with the most stations, the capital, Bogota, with 45 and Medellin with 23 are at the top, followed by Pereira and Cali with 11 and six stations, respectively.
For José Stalin Rojas, director of the Mobility Observatory of the National University of Colombia, the number of charging points in cities depends on several factors and not only on the number of electric vehicles, as is usually believed.
“The possibility of people recharging the vehicle at night in their homes, the extension of the city or the speed of charging at public points must be taken into account,” Rojas said.
By Antonio Vilela
