The path to 'green' mobility in Brazil

Despite the electric vehicle (EV) craze hitting many nations throughout the world, being cost effective is still top priority for many, and this is definitely true for Brazil where at least 60% of its light vehicles are flex-fuel.

While other countries such as the United States, China, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Japan, the UK, and the Netherlands have been pushing EV, Latin America's largest country has been pushing the use of its sugarcane based ethanol for more than a decade

Currently, Brazil has about 19 flex-fuel automobile manufacturers producing numerous models, and this has resulted in more than  25mn cars and 4mn motorcycles on the streets which use the technology.

Natural gas is another energy powering some vehicles throughout the country but it has taken the back seat to ethanol, gasoline, and diesel. Although it is a clean energy source, it is not as efficient and its distribution network is sparse. 

As for ethanol, besides offering the environmental benefit of reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, drivers with flex-fuel cars have the freedom to use ethanol, gasoline, or a mixture of the two, a one of a kind technology that is only available in Brazil, according to sugarcane energy news portal Nova Cana.

"In fact, sugarcane ethanol emits 90% less emissions than gasoline," the portal quoted sugarcane industry union (Unica) emissions consultant Alfred Szwarc as saying.

Although electric vehicles are known for being environmentally friendly, the manufacturing of batteries for electric motors releases large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, even before they are put into the cars, says Szwarc. 

Electric Vehicle challenges

Despite legislative efforts such as exempting import tariffs and giving discounts on IPVA personal vehicle property tax on electric vehicles, the starting cost of an EV (Toyota Prius) in Brazil is approximately 125,000 reais (US$40,000), still quite expensive for the average Brazilian.

Even if an individual is able to buy one, EV charging facilities are far to come by.

In the meantime, the federal government is eying other ways to push more sustainably powered vehicles. One involves removing the 30% IPI industrialized goods tax for electric and hybrid cars being built in the country, something that has been happening in the United States and Europe for more than 10 years.

According to development, industry, and foreign trade minister Marcos Pereira, IPI exemption and other incentives are being considered under logistics and mobility program Rota 2030. Aimed at establishing policies until 2030, it is expected to come into effect after the December 31, 2017 expiration of the existing program, Inovar-Auto.

Besides helping Brazil to be more competitive, this plan should boost investor confidence as it will define policies over the next 13 years.

Collective Transport

Another way to "go green" is by increasing collective transport services in large metropolitan areas. Despite Brazil's success in flex-fuel manufacturing, it still has much work to do when it comes to achieving sufficient public transportation.

According to study by New York-based non-profit Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) which measured the number of residents within 1km of public transportation systems in the world's largest cities, Brazilian cities are among the worst ranked in Latin America.

According to ITDP, which calculated weighted density (residents per km2) and the proportion of the population close to a rapid transit system, the worst ranked city was Brasilia, followed by São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Rio de Janeiro.

Although this could be resolved through the construction of subways, monorails, urban trains, and bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, there are a few quick fix options occurring in these cities in the meantime.

Among them is car pooling through Uber where you share a ride with other passengers, ride share program Bla Bla Car where you catch a ride from someone in the same trajectory, and car sharing program Ponto a Ponto which allows you to rent a car from point to point instead of by the day.

Fleet managers and program developers, put on your thinking caps as you could come up with the next innovative idea that will help Brazil become even greener.

Authored by Daniel Bland