PRODUCTION IS ALSO EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN THE REGION
Colombiabus newsroom – C40 Cities / William Marroquín
Important announcements have been made during these days, in the framework of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26), which have repercussions at a global level. Also, multiple commitments to accelerate the electrification of transportation in Latin America have been signed during the world meeting.
One of them of great importance has been signed by the ZEBRA Alliance, an association directed by the Climate Leadership Group, known as C40 Cities and the International Council on Clean Transportation. The alliance works to support the deployment of more than 3,000 electric buses in Latin American cities. The investor group has publicly pledged through ZEBRA to make more than $1 billion available for well-structured zero-emission bus projects in the region.
AMP Capital (Australia), Enel X (Italy), ARC Global Fund (United States), Ascendal Group (United Kingdom), Ashmore Group (United Kingdom), Copec Voltex (Chile), EDP (Brazil), John Laing (United Kingdom) ), VEMO (Mexico) and VIP Green Mobility (Switzerland), are the investors who pledged to provide financial resources to deploy electric buses in the region.
These companies have already participated in electromobility projects in Latin America, mainly in the provision of both electric buses and infrastructures of the Red (Transantiago) systems in Chile, Transmilenio in Bogotá and Metrobus in Mexico City. They have also participated as a provider of funds for the development of batteries and propellants for the electrification ecosystems of the fleets.
In addition to the $1 billion investor commitment, a group of bus manufacturers and distributors, including new members Volvo, Zhongtong, IUSA, Busscar and Rennorgy, have pledged to make zero-emission vehicles available commercially available in Latin America and, where possible, produced locally.
These commitments expand the group of bus manufacturers with a formal interest in the region, which already included companies such as Andes Motor, BYD, CreattiEV SAS, Foton, Higer, Sunwin, Vivipra and Yutong, all of them with a declaration signed at the end of 2020.
Innovative business models and financial mechanisms are being developed and applied to enable the large-scale deployment of electric buses, such as the separation of ownership and operation of the buses seen in Santiago and Bogotá, and the separation of ownership of the chassis of the bus and the battery in São Paulo.
Business models like these, in which manufacturers and investors play a crucial role, can help municipalities and private operators overcome lack of capital and difficult access to credit, reducing financial risks. Over time, these investments will continue to expand bus deployment
electric throughout the region.
