The Renault–Nissan Alliance and the government of Costa Rica have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to introduce the Leaf electric vehicle in the country.
Representatives from Nissan and the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (Minaet) of Costa Rica signed the document that lays the foundation for the introduction of zero-emission mobility in that country.
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Both parties will now create a work group responsible for introducing the EV via a pilot programme. The team will collaborate in multiple areas including analysing infrastructure requirements and defining potential incentives for early adopters.
“We have signed this MOU because we agree that introducing and fostering the use of electric vehicles is one of the best solutions to reduce CO2 emissions. The Costa Rica government is willing to back initiatives that promote within our population a shift toward zero-emission transportation solutions that do not pollute the environment,” said Guzmán Ortiz, vice-minister of environment, energy and telecommunications.
Costa Rica´s national development plan for 2011–2014 includes a key commitment that it established in 2007 under the UN framework: that by its bicentennial celebration in 2012 the country will be carbon neutral by offsetting greenhouse gas emissions with carbon reducing efforts.
Costa Rica willl be the first central American country to introduce zero-emissions vehicles.
To date, the alliance has signed over 100 agreements globally with local, regional and national governments, as well as with several companies. Among these are agreements with other Latin American government entities including Mexico City, Brazil, Chile and Puerto Rico.
Nissan entered Costa Rica in 1960 with the now defunct Datsun brand. It currently accounts for 15.8% of the automotive market and is represented by master distributor Agencia Datsun and two dealerships. The 12 model lines sold there include the Tiida [Versa] sedan, Juke, 370Z, X-Trail and Navara.
