Plans Being Made for Converting to Electric Vehicles

• All new vehicles for the public fleet are to be electric. This is the intention of the Government as disclosed by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, when he addressed the House of Representatives in his contribution to the Budget Debate on Thursday (March 17). 
• This measure is being driven by two key factors. Firstly, several global automobile manufacturers have decided to discontinue the manufacturing of internal combustion engines by 2030 to meet regulatory requirements for climate change goals. Therefore, the world will have to transition to cleaner and more environmentally friendly alternatives such as electric vehicles. Secondly, the transition towards electric vehicles will help to reduce the government's import bill. Oil imports used for the creation of gasoline weighs heavily on Jamaica's import bill and have been exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war. Going forward a transition towards electric vehicles will result in significant cost savings for the country as a whole. 
• The government has developed a strategic framework to guide the introduction of electric vehicles in Jamaica. This was done with the assistance of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). According to the IDB, a conversion to e-mobility of 12%-16% of our private and public fleet would result in savings to Jamaica of approximately 2% of gross domestic product (GDP).

(Source: NCBCM and JIS)