100% electric cars do not solve the traffic problem and, depending on the production method and the origin of the energy for recharging, they still leave their carbon footprints around. Despite this, they contribute to the reduction of gas emissions and noise pollution. These advantages are known to few, and the biggest barrier is the price: there is already a lot of interest in the technology.
According to the Webmotors portal, searches for this type of vehicle grew 23% in the comparison between the first half of this year and the same period in 2021. This consumer, however, has not found bargains.
The cheapest electric car for sale in Brazil is the Renault Kwid e-Tech, which costs BRL 147,000. It’s a tiny model, which doesn’t have steering wheel height adjustment or luxuries like automatic air conditioning or push-button start. For that price, you can buy a trendy flex SUV with all these items and more space.
Is this Kwid that doesn’t burn gasoline bad? If compared to other subcompacts, the answer is no. The conclusion came after two days behind the wheel of the model, which has an automatic transmission and behaves very well in heavy traffic. But compared to rivals of the same price, it lags far behind in comfort. The “luxury” is not to emit smoke.
The high cost is not unique to Brazil. The lack of components generated by the health crisis delayed the automakers’ electrification plans at a time of greater interest in the products. There is desire, but options are lacking.
In May 2021, Transport & Environment (European transport and environment federation) released a study that pointed to a sharp reduction in prices according to the gain in scale.
According to the research, an electric compact car would be cheaper than its gasoline equivalent as early as 2027. The worsening semiconductor crisis has cast doubt on the forecast, but there is still hope.
Those who have already invested in electric micromobility have obtained good results. Laurent Barria, responsible for the global marketing of the Citroën brand, said that the production of the compact electric Ami is not keeping up with the demand in Europe.
It’s a two-seater model that isn’t even called a car, but it met the wishes of both those who want to buy and those who just want to share. The price helps: in France, it costs the equivalent of R$40,000.
According to the executive, the special series Ami Buggy had its stock of 50 units sold out in 18 minutes. Sales were made online.
This is a rare case where an electric vehicle is not associated with the top of the market. This elitization of products is also seen in the availability of charging points.
Davi Bertoncello, CEO of Tupinambá Energia, recalls that many of the outlets are in premium shopping malls, where you can see cars costing more than R$600,000 plugged into free points. The price charged is basically the value of parking.
He calculates that Brazil has a deficit of 4,000 public chargers, and the increase in supply must be accompanied by tariffs for the service.
Today Tupinambá has some chargers that work for a fee, but the price does not exceed R$ 2 per kWh. Thus, refilling the batteries of a Porsche Taycan Turbo S (R$ 1.1 million) would cost, at most, R$ 187. In the case of the Renault Kwid E-Tech, the recharge that allows running about 290 km would cost R$ $54.
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
