In this article from Mobility Portal Latin America, you will find the ranking of countries with the highest number of zero-emission units in circulation, along with an overview of the landscape in each of their cities.
According to data provided by the E-BUS Radar platform, Latin America has a total of 5,057 electric buses in public transportation.
Referencing the latest analysis conducted in October, an additional 59 buses were added.
How has the progress been in recent years?
In 2017, there were a total of 725 units; in 2018, 845; in 2019, 1,363; in 2020, 1,959; in 2021, 2,480; and in 2022, 3,716.
This means that, over the past year, there was a total increase of 1,341 vehicles.
Specifically, in the year 2022, there were 2,669 battery-powered buses, and now there are 3,988 in operation.
Trolleybuses also experienced an increase compared to last year, with 17 more in the region.
In broad strokes, Chile leads the market with 2,045 vehicles, followed by Colombia with 1,589, Mexico with 623, Brazil with 398, and Ecuador with 106.
Chile
This country leads the market with 2,045 vehicles. Breaking down these figures, 1,930 are standard battery-powered, 98 are midi battery-powered, and 30 are trolleybuses.
In detail, Santiago has 2,000 units in operation: 1,913 are standard battery-powered, and 85 are midi battery-powered. The city of Valparaíso is the only one with trolleybuses, totaling 30.
On the other hand, La Reina has three minibuses, and Los Condes has 10, all midi battery-powered and manufactured by Yutong.
Colombia
Out of the 1,589 units that the country possesses, 804 are standard battery-powered, and 784 are midi battery-powered. The brands with the highest presence in the main Colombian cities are BYD, Sunwin, Yutong, and Zhongtong.
In Bogotá, there is a total of 1,485 units manufactured by BYD and Yutong. The numbers regarding technology types are similar: they have 740 standard battery-powered and 745 midi battery-powered.
Moving on to Medellín, there are 69 electric buses in operation, with the majority being standard battery-powered buses manufactured by BYD. There is only one articulated bus and four midi battery-powered buses.
Finally, in Cali, there are 35 electric buses, all of which are midi battery-powered. 36 belong to Sunwin, and 9 to BYD.
Mexico
The country has 623 vehicles, comprising 525 trolleybuses, 60 battery-powered articulated buses, and 38 battery-powered midi buses.
Mexico City has 500 trolleybuses and 60 battery-powered buses. Out of these units, 270 were manufactured by Yutong.
Regarding Guadalajara, battery-powered midi buses predominate with 30 units, followed by 25 trolleybuses. In this case, Sunwin is the leading brand within these numbers.
Brasil
Out of the 444 buses in circulation in Brazil, 302 are trolleybuses, 127 are standard battery-powered, and 13 are battery-powered articulated buses.
In comparison to the data provided in the previous report, it can be observed that this country added 50 buses to its fleet. The standout manufacturers in the territory are Eletra and BYD.
Concerning Brazil’s most populous city, Sao Paulo has 269 units, primarily trolleybuses, mostly manufactured by Eletra.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Region of Sao Paulo has 96 buses, with only one being battery-powered, and the rest are trolleybuses.
Standard battery-powered buses are present in Bauru and Mauá with 2 units each; Brasilia and Diadema with 6 each; Guarujá and the metropolitan region of Vitória with 4 each.
Additionally, Maringá and Volta Redonda each have 3; Salvador and its metropolitan region have 8 and 20, respectively; São Bernardo do Campo and Sorocaba have 1 each.
On the other hand, Maringa has only one battery-powered midi bus.
Ecuador
The zero-emission units are distributed across three cities in Ecuador, totaling 106. 85 are trolleybuses, 20 are standard battery-powered, and one is a battery-powered midi bus.
In Quito, the capital of the country, trolleybuses predominate. Currently, they have 85 units, and the manufacturer is not specified.
Moving on to Guayaquil, the city has a fleet of 20 standard battery-powered buses, manufactured by BYD.
Finally, in Santa Cruz, there is only one battery-powered midi bus, manufactured by Zhongtong.
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