Mexican Media Brands
High Costs Hamper Electric Cars in Caribbean
Caribbean islands offer an ideal market for electric cars—except for taxes that make EVs too expensive for most buyers, Reuters reports.
#hybrid
Share
The Caribbean islands offer an ideal market for electric cars—except for taxes that make EVs too expensive for most buyers, Reuters reports.
The islands offer ideal operating conditions for EVs. Traffic speeds are low, range anxiety is a nonissue, and abundant sunshine makes solar-powered charging facilities ideal.
A shift to EVs also would ease the islands’ costly dependence on imported gasoline, Reuters points out. But it says the high initial cost of electric vehicles, coupled with hefty import duties and a lack of regulatory support, are slowing the shift.
In Barbados, for example, a Nissan Leaf electric sedan retails for about $50,000, compared with $30,000 in the U.S. On some islands, tariffs can double the cost of an electric. Analysts note that many of the region’s island governments are reluctant to give up the revenue from high import taxes on any type of vehicle.
Still, some Caribbean countries, such as Tobago and Trinidad, have cut such taxes on most EVs, and Barbados is pondering a similar move. Reuters adds that electric utilities in the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and St. Lucia are beginning to build charging grids.
RELATED CONTENT
-
What the VW ID. BUGGY Indicates
Volkswagen will be presenting a concept, the ID. BUGGY, a contemporary take on a dune buggy, based on the MEB electric platform that the company will be using for a wide array of production vehicles, at the International Geneva Motor Show.
-
Will Alcraft Take Off?
“British electric vehicle start-up Alcraft Motor Company has revealed details of its first car, the high-performance Alcraft GT.
-
Internal Combustion Engines’ Continued Domination (?)
According to a new research study by Deutsche Bank, “PCOT III: Revisiting the Outlook for Powertrain Technology” (that’s “Pricing the Car of Tomorrow”), to twist a phrase from Mark Twain, it seems that the reports of the internal combustion engine’s eminent death are greatly exaggerated.