Electric cars have little future in Brazil despite the lofty goals announced for some European countries and China.

Consumers are confused by the differences between electrified vehicles and electric vehicles. A hybrid still has a combustion engine, merely aided by an electric motor, while plug in hybrids have yet to get much beyond the 30 miles on electric only range (the combustion motor may yet kick in when needed). The pure EV still has big challenges ahead until a range of 300 miles at least for a sensible price and a decent spread of recharging stations are avalable. Battery recycling is also an issue although some ingenious re-uses are already at the trial stage.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Germany has the informal goal of a registered fleet of 1m EVs by 2020. Last year, the total so far was estimated at 75,000. Good luck.

Don Walker, Magna’s CEO, recently predicted in a US speech that pure electrics would take 3% to 6% of the global vehicle market by 2025 if China’s plans succeed.

“Quite frankly, automakers do not say publicly their true beliefs. They know what will happen, but they rather prefer to play for the audience and be perceived as progressive companies,” he said.

In Brazil, though, there is no effort to promote EVs and nor will there be for economic, logistic, and technical reasons.

At the recent 13th hybrid-electric vehicles, components and new technologies show in São Paulo, importers of two new, Chinese brands, Aoxin and Lgao, attended the event.

An indoor test drive of some vehicles attracted some 6,000 visitors during the show’s four days.

Among the mammoth difficulties for growth of the electric option for Brazil are the associated costs. All administration level governments are financially strapped and heavy incentives like those abroad are not foreseen, even on a distant horizon, except for very specific, limited initiatives.

Currently there are just 100 recharging stations country wide. So the availability of Brazil’s clean hydro generated electricity makes little difference and even that depends on rainfall.

A far from inspiring message came in the lecture by ministry of industry, foreign commerce and services’ analyst Ricardo Zommer during the show.

“Room (fiscally) for financing infrastructure for electric cars is non existent,” he said.