The Chilean Way: The Road Taken Towards Electric Public Transport

The first electric vehicle charger in Santiago, Chile, and Latin America as a whole, was installed by Enel Group in April 2011, marking the first step for electric mobility in the country.  At the time, electric vehicles and charging infrastructure was almost non-existent in South America.

For the Chilean public, it was a new idea, but for the Enel Group, which had a vision that electro mobility could accelerate rapidly in the upcoming years, it was the perfect time to start the electric vehicle revolution in Chile.

Fast forward to today and the government of Chile has now endorsed a public-private alliance that includes a collaborative partnership between Enel X, Metbus, and BYD.  As part of the partnership, the first 100 electric buses were incorporated into the public transit system of Santiago on December 15th, 2018.  The new purchase is not a pilot project, but represents a significant step forward for the electric vehicle revolution in Chile.

Beyond the investment in e-buses, in this configuration Enel X has developed a “turnkey” package that includes the engineering and construction of the project, as well as the provision of charging stations and energy to power all the electric buses of the Chilean capital’s public transport system.

Like many countries, Chile has a goal of 100% renewables by 2040 in its National Strategy for Electric Mobility.  The 100 bus purchase from BYD is just the start of a full conversion of the transit system in the country to electric transportation.

Read more at The Chilean Way:  The Road Taken Towards Electric Public Transport