Uruguay, like Costa Rica, are the countries with the highest penetration in the sale of electric cars; the country is accompanied by government measures that support the market for these vehicles, a decision that is reflected in an increase of 80.92% in 2023 compared to the previous year.
The Automotive Trade Association (ACAU) published official data on vehicle sales and, specifically, on electric vehicles and, according to the published data, the sales managed to increase by 80.92% during 2023 compared to 2022. According to ACAU, “the electric vehicles are establishing themselves in the market with great momentum, accompanying the global trend”.
In this sense, the general manager of ACAU, Ignacio Pazhe assured Informativo Uruguay that like Costa Ricathe country achieved one of the highest penetrations in the sale of electric vehicles in the entire Latin America.
“They are small countries that managed to be proactive and efficient in terms of infrastructure. In Uruguay The most distant points in the territory are 570 km away and today there are already 285 chargers installed per UTE. In a few days the projected 300 will be completed and one charger will be available every 50 kilometers on all national routes,” Paz explained.
Measures that favor its development
The government has been part of the incentive for this market through different measures. “Uruguay has removed practically all taxes that weigh on electric vehicles, only the VAT, but they are still expensive, the key to the price will be the batteries, which are also evolving to achieve greater autonomy,” explained Paz.
Until now, the price of electric vehicles is around $35,000 per unit, although the general manager of ACAU It is estimated that over time the prices of the units will begin to drop.
On the other hand, Paz highlighted that the government has implemented aid programs so that electric vehicles be used in taxis, remises and car applications. These benefits were delivered to 100 places and it is expected that even more can be delivered this year. According to Paz, this has allowed discounts of up to $11,500 per unit to be accumulated.
Among the incentives promoted by the government to boost the growth and adoption of electric vehicles in the country, the Investment Promotion Law has been one of the most important, which explains the increase in sales between 60% and 70%. In that sense, a vehicle in the projects that are registered under this law allows us to reduce a large part of the taxes that are applied to this type of vehicle thanks to the fact that clean energy is rewarded.
On the other hand, there is also the exemption of Specific Internal Tax (Imesi)the non-collection of external tariff of 23% in case of import, and the reduction in the value of the patent to the half.
There was an increase in supply during 2023
The offer of electric cars increased strongly during 2023 and grew by 54% in the last 12 months (until December of last year), according to data from the latest electric mobility report from Mercado Libre Uruguay.
In addition, vehicles showed an average drop of 11.4% in their prices measured in dollars with respect to 2022 and the trend indicates that its value will remain downward. In fact, the average price of a electric car It was around $38,990 last year and today it is at $34,990, although they can be obtained from $6,980 to $206,000.
Source: Ambito
