Abstract:

Brazil and other Latin-American countries are lagging behind as the automobile industry shifts to electromobility and electric vehicle use rises. Aiming to promote BEV and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) adoption in Brazil, some tax breaks have been granted.  Currently, BEVs represent less than 0.1% of Brazilian fleet. The objective of this systematic review was to create an outlook of the Brazilian BEV landscape and its particularities. The Brazilian scenario exhibits unique features, such as a powerful automotive sector with large investments in internal combustion engine technology and a well-established biofuels market based on flex-fuel technology. Although energy security, urban air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, and technological advantage have been common drivers for the adoption of electric vehicles worldwide, the Brazilian immediate motivations are different, and the biofuels business ecosystem is likely to transform the path for electromobility. High tag price and lack of public charging infrastructure have deeply discouraged electric vehicles adoption. The absence of regulation and a national consensus on the role of electric vehicles has been notorious. In fact, only in 2018 did the electricity regulatory agency (ANEEL) issue a resolution permitting the sale of electricity for recharging. The objective of this review was to create an outlook of the Brazilian transportation landscape. The authors identified relevant players, public charging infrastructure initiatives, market and other barriers, and regulation actions by consulting academic literature, media sources, and reports. The purpose of this research is to gather information that may be used to help entrepreneurs and policymakers make decisions or establish plans. The study's primary findings include the need for an electrification model that can work in tandem with biofuels, as well as the importance of having well-defined regulations on what Brazil wants from electromobility.