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EV sales in Latin America nearly doubled in 2018

Mexico accounts for over half the LatAm EV market

Electric vehicle (EV) sales in Latin America increased by 90% in 2018 due to growing demand in Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica. While the LatAm EV market is far smaller than East Asia, Europe and North America, accounting for less than 1% of global EV sales in 2018, it is starting to grow thanks to a handful of incentives and targets. Mexico and Costa Rica, for example, exempt EVs from numerous taxes while Colombia has an ambitious target of 600,000 EVs on its roads by 2030.

Companies are also increasing their activity. BYD Co. now sells electric buses across the region and Tesla Inc. recently launched its best-selling Model 3 in Mexico.

BloombergNEF expects the market in Latin America will continue to grow steadily as EV prices come down, automakers introduce new models and governments ramp up e-bus procurement.

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