Using an electric car in Brazil becomes a ‘hardship’ due to lack of recharging points

About two weeks ago, Vinicius Coroa Charng decided to return to the rental company the 100% electric car he used to work in São Paulo, returning to a traditional model.

The reason was the difficulty of “refueling” in the few recharging points in São Paulo.

“I did the math and realized that I was losing time and money in the queues to charge the car. I have already spent up to four hours waiting,” says Charng to the Estadão outlet.

“If there was more structure to serve electric cars, I would definitely go back, but for now, it’s impossible.”

Broken or under-maintenance chargers, inactive charging stations, and long lines are just some of the difficulties encountered by drivers.

The situation becomes more serious in the case of app drivers, who use electric models for work.

For them, driving around the city looking for an electric point or spending time in line to charge can mean a loss.

Recently, Uber and 99 announced initiatives to electrify their fleets in Brazil.

By the end of the year, the companies should have about 500 cars running in the country – the model is encouraged because it is a marketing tool in terms of environmental impact.

To convince drivers to join the idea, the platforms have offered a discount on the rental price.

In addition, charging is much cheaper compared to the cost of gasoline and ethanol for those who drive all day.

In some partnerships, it can be free.

But the infrastructure is still deficient. The Brazilian Association of Electric Vehicles (ABVE) informs that Brazil has surpassed the mark of 100 thousand electric models – the number also includes hybrids.

According to the entity, the public charging network increased from 1,000 to 2,800 units in the country between 2021 and 2022 – one address for every 14 vehicles.

In the U.S., however, the network is one station for every 8 cars.

According to the entity, the goal is to reach 3,000 charging addresses in the coming weeks, which ABVE classifies as “an advance”.

With information from Estadão