EVs grow in Ecuador but new president begins term without a clear roadmap

After his re-election, Daniel Noboa is guaranteed to remain in office in Ecuador until 2029 and, broadly speaking, his Government maintains an unclear stance regarding the promotion of electromobility and electric vehicles.

So far, no visible progress has been made in charging infrastructure, nor have solid incentives been proposed to give the sector a real boost.

What will his approach be in this new term? Are there any strong signals that allow us to anticipate the direction he will take?

Since his victory at the polls, the president has reinforced certain energy and transport policies that, although they do not directly target electric mobility, could pave the way for its development in the near future.

Nevertheless, sources from the private sector consulted by Mobility Portal Latinoamérica consider that electromobility “is not a concrete priority” within the agenda of his second mandate, as the country is facing crises that need to be addressed first.

This is reflected in the deployment of charging stations, for example, which remains scarce, particularly outside of Quito and Guayaquil.

No clear roadmap has been presented to establish specific goals or deadlines for promoting its adoption.

Noboa, leader of Acción Democrática Nacional (ADN), came to power in 2023 after early elections and now governs with a full mandate.

This ambiguity on sustainable mobility issues raises doubts within the energy sector for not providing clear definitions about the transition to cleaner transport.

What energy measures has Noboa taken after his re-election that could impact electromobility?

An example of some measures he supports is the relaunch of the Plan Nuevo Transporte, which focuses on modernising the vehicle fleet through incentives for voluntary scrapping.

Although the plan still does not clarify whether it includes electric vehicles, sector representatives expect its redesign to consider electrification options for urban fleets, such as buses and taxis.

He also highlights a prior tax reform – implemented under his own mandate – which maintains fiscal and tariff benefits for electric public transport.

Among the main changes introduced are:

• New definition of electric vehicle, excluding extended-range vehicles from fiscal benefits.
• Extension of the deadline until 2034 for the conversion of commercial transport to zero-emission technologies.
• Launch of a scrapping plan to renew the fleet with more efficient units.

Gap between chargers and growth of the electric fleet

In Ecuador, the pace of electric charger installations does not keep up with the growth of the vehicle fleet.

In 2024, electric and hybrid vehicles in Ecuador recorded an annual increase of 19.6%, while the public charging network remains disjointed and sparse.

Despite expressing his intention to attract foreign investment in renewable energies such as wind and nuclear power, Noboa avoided directly addressing the development of charging points, a notable omission in a context where the lack of infrastructure is one of the main barriers to the mass adoption of electric vehicles.

The Energy Competitiveness Law: Changes in the definition and more years for public transport electrification

Although current results are not directly attributable to a specific electromobility policy, the Energy Competitiveness Law marked a turning point.

It is important to remember that, since 2021, the country has had a National Electromobility Strategy (ENEE), developed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which sets a target for 2025 of having 3% to 5% of the bus fleet composed of electric units.

This implies a total of 1,500 zero-emission vehicles, a target that is difficult to achieve in the current context of Ecuador. According to the E-BUS Radar platform, the country currently has 106 electric buses operating on its streets. How can electromobility progress in a country in an energy crisis?

This is where the Organic Energy Competitiveness Law comes into play. In effect since January of this year, it seeks to optimise the management of public resources related to the electricity sector, both in the public and private domains, in the context of the energy difficulties the country is facing.

One of the measures it introduced was to extend the deadline to 10 years for commercial transport (tourism, school and institutional transport, taxis, heavy freight) to replace its combustion vehicles with electric ones.

Thus, the target set for 2025 will now be set for 2034.

Another major change introduced by these measures is the modification of the electric vehicle definition.

Under these tax reforms, electric vehicles are now understood as those propelled solely by electric energy sources, whose battery charge exclusively uses this type of energy.

As a result, extended-range electric vehicles are no longer considered “electric vehicles,” and are excluded from fiscal and tax benefits.

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