EN 
PT_BR 
ABVE (Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association) issued a note, this Saturday (16), repudiating a police operation that seized electric scooters in São Paulo (SP).
“Once again, due to a lack of dialogue and a correct interpretation of the laws in force, we see authorities adopting arbitrary measures that discourage electromobility in the largest city in the country, in contradiction with statements made by the Public Authorities themselves,” said the entity.
According to the police, who carried out the seizure last Thursday (14), on the corner of avenues Rebouças and Faria Lima, West Zone, the scooters had an accelerator.
Therefore, they fall within the restrictions valid for electric motorcycles and scooters with a power variation device. “It is unreasonable and without support in legislation”, emphasized ABVE.
The association also said that the Decree 58,907, which regulates the use of electric scooters in São Paulo, setting speed limits and minimum age of the driver, for example, never refers to the vehicle's accelerator as a restrictive factor in circulation.
“Now, every electric scooter has an accelerator. As long as it meets the user's size, speed, age and safety equipment requirements, circulation is permitted on cycle paths, cycle lanes and roads in São Paulo up to 40 km/h. The misinformation from the police authority in question was blatant”, they highlighted.
Federal legislation
In the note, ABVE also highlighted that the seizure occurred in violation of federal legislation. The entity recalled what Paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Resolution 947 of the National Traffic Council.
This resolution, which deals with the circulation conditions of mopeds and electric bicycles, explicitly excludes other “self-propelled individual mobility equipment” (such as electric scooters, hover boards and unicycles) from the requirements required for the aforementioned vehicles.
“ABVE defends the immediate return of the seized vehicles to their legitimate owners and requests an urgent meeting with the municipal traffic authorities of São Paulo to definitively clarify all aspects of the legislation in force and prevent the occurrence of new operations such as the one on the 14th. April”, they concluded.
EV market grows in Brazil
Data from ABVE/Renavam showed that sales of EVs Light (electric vehicles) in Brazil grew by 115% in the first quarter of 2022, reaching 9,844 units, against 4,582 in the same period of 2021.
Last month's 3,851 electrified vehicle registrations represent an increase of 106% over March of the previous year (1,872) and 12% over February 2022 (3,435).
“Brazilian consumers already prefer low-emission vehicles. The numbers are clear: in the two years of the pandemic, electrified vehicles grew exponentially, while the combustion vehicle market regressed”, commented Adalberto Maluf, president of ABVE.
However, in the expert's view, the market share of electrified vehicles is still below the country's potential. “Only 2.6% in the first quarter. We have to go much further. Considering only plug-in electric vehicles (BEV and PHEV), this percentage drops to 0.8%”.
“If Brazil does not strongly insert itself into the new global electromobility production chains, it will lose competitiveness. National industries will become obsolete, and the jobs of the future will be created in other countries, not here”, he concluded.
