Electric vehicle market grows and breaks record in Brazil

Brazilians are increasingly seeking mobility in a sustainable way. Proof of this is the record sales of electric vehicles in the country this year, surpassing the total number recorded between January and September 2019.

According to ABVE (Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association), the projection is that by the end of the year 19 thousand eletric cars in Brazil, an increase of 60% compared to 2019 and 378% compared to 2018.

“The sale of electric vehicles has been growing a lot around the world. And the plans for rebuilding the economies, post-Covid-19, in many countries have a strong environmental bias and the construction of a green, low-carbon economy”, highlighted Adalberto Maluf, president of the ABVE Board.

“Electric mobility is a reality around the world, which is why Brazil needs to decide whether it wants to play a leading role in this issue or whether we remain on the sidelines of major innovations, as spectators of this technological revolution that is emerging worldwide”, concluded Maluf.

Among the companies that are already adopting this technology is Bellsol, located in Belém (PA). In 2020, they found a specific niche in the car and electric charger market to expand the range of service offerings.

“We acquired, through the FNO Sustentável financing line from Banco da Amazônia, the first 100% electric vehicle in the state of Pará, from BYD. From then on, we began to receive demands for the installation of chargers for electric cars, being the first solar energy company in the North of Brazil to offer this service”, said Walber Junior, commercial director at Bellsol.

“Today, we have renowned clients, such as Jaguar, Land Rover and BMW. We are frequently installing these devices in homes and residential buildings to meet the needs of consumers who already have 100% electric and/or hybrid cars”, added Junior.

Other data

Also according to the ABVE survey, in the first ten months of 2020, the total number of electric vehicles registered in Brazil was 15,565 units, compared to 11,858 from January to December last year. In 2018, the total was 3,970 units.

The highlight this year was the month of October, with 2,273 vehicles sold, becoming the second best month in the history of electric mobility in the country. The best month remains December 2019, with 2,409 sales.

“These excellent results confirm our expectation that the electrified vehicle market in Brazil tends to double in size every two years or less”, highlighted Thiago Sugahara, vice-president of Light Vehicles at ABVE and executive at Toyota.

From 2012 until October 2020, the number of vehicles in circulation in Brazil reached 38,089 vehicles. ABVE estimates that this number will rise to 41 thousand in December.

Incentives

According to ABVE, it is essential that a set of measures be implemented that conveys confidence to buyers and security to companies that want to invest in electromobility.

Among these measures, the association points to the equalization of the IPI (Tax on Industrialized Products) rates for electrified vehicles with conventional automobiles.

Today, EVs pay between 12% and 18% of IPI, on average, while a 1.0 combustion flex car, for example, pays only 7%.

“We defend equal conditions for electrified vehicles, which are much more efficient and less polluting than any similar conventional combustion engine. It’s a question of tax justice,” said Sugahara.

Other measures proposed by ABVE are the installation of electrical charging networks in the main cities and highways, and the exemption from IPVA (Motor Vehicle Property Tax) charged on electrified vehicles.

Shared electric car app

In the same week that ABVE released the number of sales of electric vehicles in the country, Itaú announced, in a press conference, that it will make available a new shared electric car service via app in the country.

According to the announcement, Vec Itaú will begin to be tested from 2021 in the capital of São Paulo. The expectation is that the service will be expanded to other states.

According to Itaú, in the initial period of the service three models will be available to users: Jaguar I-Pace, BMW i3 and JAC iEV40. Prices were not disclosed.