If 2019 was a watershed year for Chinese electric buses in Latin America, in 2020 they became mainstream.<\/p>\n
Latin American countries are moving towards cleaner public transport<\/a> in their most populated cities. In the process, they have overcome existing entry barriers to the widespread rollout of the technology \u2013 driven globally by China \u2013 including scarcities of national financing models, charging points and trained personnel.<\/p>\n Manufacturers of Chinese electric buses stand out as the largest providers to the region. Adalberto Maluf, president of the Brazilian Association of Electric Vehicles and marketing director of Chinese maker BYD, said: \u201cBYD sold 1045 buses last year in Latin America. This shows that the market is growing. It is not the size of the European market, or the US, but it\u2019s already very close.\u201d<\/p>\n In total, Latin America has 1229 electric buses in operation in 10 countries, including 563 ordinary buses, 624 trolleybuses and 41 midi e-buses, according to the new E-Bus Radar project<\/a> led by the Sustainable Mobility Laboratory at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n With 410 buses currently operational, Santiago has the largest electric fleet in Latin America and the largest of any city outside China. Transantiago, Santiago\u2019s Bus Rapid Transport system (BRT), which transports about 60% of the Chilean capital\u2019s population, manages the fleet. BYD (285), and other Chinese manufacturers Yutong (100) and King Long (25) supplied the vehicles.<\/p>\n The first 100 buses arrived in December 2018, bought directly by the national government as part of its electromobility strategy, which aims to have only electric buses by 2050. But this caused problems, according to Franco Basso, professor at Valparaiso Catholic University.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no bidding process, which would have lowered the costs of the purchase. The government then had to compensate for its higher expenses and raised the bus fares, which partly triggered social conflicts<\/a> in Chile,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nChile: most Chinese electric buses outside China<\/h2>\n