The electrification of commercial vehicles, especially for passenger transport, could gain a new dimension throughout Latin America, anticipating the transformation processes in technologies aimed at mass mobilization. The change must happen quickly because the region is, in terms of production, the world’s second-largest market, with around 55,000 buses a year, behind only China, where 200,000 units are produced a year.
It is also important to mention that of those 350 vehicles that roll in the South American giant, 302 are trolleybuses and the majority are old. Only 48 are battery powered. It is true that, from the middle of last year to the present, several new initiatives for 100% electric and gas buses were launched, but it is still very little, mainly because these projects are for road transport or industrial chartering and not for the collective urban and in large centers.
This importance in terms of world production is causing the main international organizations and manufacturers to focus their attention on sustainable mobility projects in different countries and anticipate the introduction of clean technologies, which will benefit the whole of society. Countries like Brazil where, despite being the largest bus manufacturer in Latin America and representing approximately half of the total volume, there is a lag in the application of clean technologies. Today, Brazil is only the fourth country on the continent in number of registered clean technology buses, with 350 vehicles. It is behind Chile, with about 820 buses, Colombia, with 590, and Mexico, with 410 units.
This boost in the electrification and adoption of clean technologies, such as gas, among others, was highlighted in the launch, last September, of Busworld Latin America, the main business event in the passenger land transport sector, which for the first time Once, it will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2022, bringing together the main manufacturers and companies of the continent.
Latin America accounts for 17% of global volume and has become the world’s second-largest market for land transportation. “This growth must continue. We believe that buses are the key to solving mobility problems around the world ”, points out Vincent Dewaele, CEO of Busworld International. For the executive, the holding of the event for the first time in Argentina reinforces the objective of bringing together the entire world community of passenger land transport and not only bus manufacturers, suppliers and service providers. «The holding of seminars, knowledge exchange initiatives and the presentation of new technologies in vehicles will allow the exchange of experiences with other more developed countries to ensure efficient, sustainable and quality transportation for all in Latin America,» he emphasized.