Freight and last-mile transportation in the region face several barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles, including a lack of incentive policies and charging infrastructure.
Gabriela de la Torre Ríos, Regional Head of Vehicles and Remissions for Latin America at C40 , a network of cities promoting local climate action, also said there are irregularities in the adoption of these types of technologies.
“Not everyone is at the same stage of electrification. There are some companies or actors who are more ready to take that step or have already taken it, and they are facing some barriers, and there is another segment that is less aware of how to adopt this technology. Coordination with the federal and subnational governments is needed, and from there we start with a series of policies and incentives, financing mechanisms, and a whole framework that can accelerate the transition,” he said.
During his participation in the webinar Fleets of the Future: The Path to Sustainable Mobility, organized by Latam Mobility Mexico , he explained the lack of incentives and financial attractiveness to invest in this technology, as well as in charging infrastructure.
“We’ve encountered some challenges in terms of financing in several ways. We’ve encountered a lack of access to much more competitive rates. For small transporters, we’ve encountered a series of barriers, and I believe that’s where we can find policies, incentives, or strategies that require coordination,” he indicated.
Horacio de la Torre, general manager of Greenspace E-mobility , explained that costs are one of the biggest challenges facing the sector in fleet transition, and he agreed on the importance of infrastructure and support.
“If a company is willing to make that investment in heavy trucks, we see that today there is no infrastructure to even cover Mexico’s main cities, let alone internationally, since heavy transport is very common between Mexico and the United States and in the south,” he commented.
He also mentioned that the country’s road infrastructure is one of the main challenges. For example, from the port of Manzanillo or Lázaro Cárdenas to Mexico City, it’s approximately 800 kilometers, “and a modern truck can’t even reach the city, so we need that infrastructure.”
Therefore, he stated that they are working with governments to seek the necessary tax incentives to access this type of technology . They also aim to establish charging stations in Guadalajara, Monterrey, Mexico City, and in the north of the country, to name a few initiatives.
“Starting from the fact that there isn’t enough space and also not enough energy, we have to agree on how that organization will be in order to meet all the demand that may come from the different vehicle segments. We have been promoting some models where the city can establish the identification, for example, of public lands where investments in charging infrastructure can be made for companies that are dedicated to investing in this type of construction, but also be able to make it accessible for companies that want to electrify and so that those with the purchasing power don’t necessarily have to absorb all the costs of the investment,” he said.
Additionally, small transporters can generate resources from national development banks, as well as mechanisms such as bonds and access to loans with better conditions, among others.
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