The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) will seek next week in the United States to accelerate electric mobility so that vehicles that move with fuels are replaced in the member countries of the organization.
This was what the president of CABEI, Dante Mossi, told EFE this Friday, who next Monday will participate in Washington in a Forum on Electric Mobility with the participation of nine companies in the sector and several Central American dealers that distribute vehicles of all brands, investors and consumer banks to talk to manufacturers.
The idea is that those attending the forum “look at the vehicles and feel the difference that it makes”, emphasized Mossi.
PRIORITY WITH PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
For the event, CABEI requested help from the United States Department of State, highlighting the importance of financing to promote electric mobility for a region where until now there are no charging stations or vehicles.
“The great ambition of course is public transport, but private transport, intercity buses, taxis, motorcycles and trains will also be sought,” said the senior CABEI official.
Mossi believes that the Central American region has “the challenge that the world is not selling electric vehicles to all countries.”
The forum will be held after the recent COP27 climate summit in Egypt, something important for Central America, which is also committed to a “green recovery.”
In this regard, Mossi recalled that two weeks ago, CABEI signed a loan for 254.2 million dollars with the German Bank KFW to finance sustainable economic reactivation operations in Central America and the Dominican Republic.
From the forum on electric mobility in Central America, the head of CABEI pointed out that “we have to put them all -the sectors involved- in one place and make them speak” and go “a little beyond the discourse to see how we put these global plans into action of the energy transition, especially transport”.
Mossi indicated that the Secretary of State of the United States, John Kerry, was surprised in a recent conversation they had, to learn that the CABEI countries “are not asking for preferential treatment, only financing and opening the markets to change from one forceful way to electric mobility”.
CABEI has been interested in Taiwan, South Korea, Spain, France and the United Kingdom being able to offer the vehicles, but they still have not sold to the Central American region, which has now opted to get closer to its largest trading partner, the United States, to push the project gradually.
SAVINGS FOR CONSUMERS
“In fact, the world has already made a decision for us, and Europe has decided not to produce more internal combustion vehicles after 2030. Other countries within the green plans are moving forward the heavy transport industries,” added Mossi.
He also said that the objective is for the transport fleet in Central America to move from renewable energy, which does not depend on the price of fuel, but on renewable sources such as water, wind and sun.
Mossi also highlighted the importance that Central America will have to have good roads to guarantee not only efficient electric mobilization of cargo, interurban and private transport, but also to reduce maintenance expenses.
From the forum in Washington, Mossi expects contracts to supply electric vehicles in volume for the largest concessionaire in Central America.
In his opinion, every cent that rises in the cost of fuel represents less money in the pocket of the consumer, especially the poorest.
Sustainable energy will also allow small producers to plug in their motorcycle or vehicle at night to leave the next day to deliver their products, totally independent of fuel prices, the CABEI president noted, as an example.