Charging up Chile: Enabling Shared, Electric Mobility in an Emerging Market

Santiago de Chile has one of the most extensive and functional metro and bus networks in South America, yet the city is laden with extreme urban congestion and pollution. In this emerging market, where the private vehicle ownership rate is increasing at nearly 7 % annually, electric mobility and vehicle sharing have the potential to significantly mitigate the severe pollution and congestion. However, the high cost of electric vehicle (EV) ownership is far out of reach for the typical Chilean family, whose average net-adjusted disposable income is less than half of the OECD average. This paper proposes an EV sharing ecosystem that creates the opportunity to distribute the high capital cost of EVs across multiple users. In a nation with limited policy incentives for electric mobility, vehicle sharing and strategic partnerships in the private sector involving mining companies, energy providers, automotive OEMs, and research institutions can enable the broader adoption of hybrid and battery electric vehicles. Strategies and recommendations for enabling electric mobility in this emerging but economically divided context are proposed.