In a major win for Latin American air quality, the new 750 mile Ruta-E electric truck corridor will connect Bogotá and Cartagena with charging infrastructure built to support the more than 1,000 commercial EVs set to hit Colombia’s roads by 2032.
Electric can still be a tough sell to fleet buyers in the US, where a century-long relationship with an established network of gas and diesel fueling stations has built deep sense of trust in a mature fueling network. It’s a different story in Latin America, however, where filling stations are less dense and less reliable, and where electricity is becoming far more ubiquitous. You may not find a DC fast charger as easily as you like, but you can almost always find power. In those environments, range anxiety can cut both ways, and the goal for fleet operators anywhere in the capitalist world is ultimately the same: do what it takes to keep the wheels turning.
Colombia gets it, which is why the nation’s Ministry of Transport is working with American non-profit CALSTART to launch Ruta-E, Colombia’s first zero-emission freight logistics corridor connecting the port city of Bogotá to the interior city of Cartagena nearly 1,200 km (~745 miles) away with enough new infrastructure to support over 1,000 new battery-electric commercial trucks.
“Colombia is already a regional leader in electric passenger vehicles, and we are going to achieve the same with trucks,” explains Colombia’s Minister of Transport, María Fernanda Rojas Mantilla. “The technology is ready, the economic benefits keep growing, and these industry leaders are telling us they want to adopt electric trucks and that they want to manufacture them. Our job is to make sure they can do so, benefiting both industry and the communities along the corridor.”
The organization hopes Ruta-E will stand as a shining example of Colombia’s leadership in transport decarbonization, and ultimately pave the way for even more electric freight corridors throughout the region. Colombia’s corridor is expected to reduce more than 185,000 tons of CO2 annually by 2032, equivalent to the emissions of 40,000 passenger vehicles
Domestic product
Heavy electric trucks from Chinese brands like the BYD 8TT (shown above and at top) have already been serving customers on Latin American roads for years, and many of those already being built and assembled in domestic markets, too.
BYD isn’t alone, either. “At Auteco Blue, we are pioneers in electric mobility in Colombia,” explains María Paula Hoyos García, Marketing Manager at Colombia’s Dongfeng distributor, Auteco Blue. “For more than five years, we have been building a portfolio focused on commercial vehicles, with technical capabilities and after-sales support tailored to our customers’ needs … today, commercial electric mobility operates mainly in last-mile delivery; Ruta-E opens the door to more operations and allows us to generate a much greater environmental impact for the country.”
Other brands offering electric trucks in Colombia include JAC, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Zoomlion, and others, with many more coming soon.
SOURCE | IMAGES: BYD; CALSTART Global Drive to Zero.
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