In Venezuela, people often must wait in long lines to get fuel for their vehicles. Fuelshortagesare common because oil production has dropped in the country. Poormaintenanceand lack of investment by Venezuela''s state-owned oil industry are some reasons for the drop in production.
In Maracaibo, a once-wealthy oil city, two innovators have built small solar-powered and electric cars. And they are promoting the manufacture and use of these cars instead of vehicles that use fossil fuels.
José Cintron is a 43-year-old electrical technician. He developed a solar-powered car. Augusto Pradelli, 61, created a small electric vehicle that can also use solar panels. Both cars are built on theframeof old golfcartswith more powerfulbatteries.
Cintron and Pradelli explained the benefits of solar energy. Pradelli said, “the beauty of solar charge is that as long as there is sun, the car is always charging. The sun is free, and that’s what you have to take advantage of.” And Cintron said, “solar energy is the future, we have to stop relying on fossil fuels.” He added that the change to solar energy will not happen in a very short period of time, and he said, "oil is not going to go away that easily.”
The two men used their own money to build the small solar and electric cars. They hope to work together to develop ahybridelectric car. And they hope that one day the car will be produced nationally, a big dream in a country that was once one of the world’s top oil producers.
Maracaibo has a population of 2 million people. It is the second-largest city in Venezuela. Temperatures there are over 34 degrees Celsius almost all year. The heat makes walkinguncomfortable. That is another reason less costly electric vehicles are an appealing choice.
“The president told me: ‘Augusto, I’ll buy it from you,''” said Pradelli. He added that he told the president that he would need the support to produce it. He said that to manufacture the vehicles, an industry is necessary.
Speaking from his work area in Maracaibo, Pradelli said, “These electric motors don’t make noise, they don’tvibrate, they don’t pollute, they are the future. The world has to think about how to get out of pollution andglobal warming.”
maintenance–n.work done to keep something in good operating condition (usually used with machinery or physical systems, such ascar maintenance, road maintenance, water system maintenance)
hybrid–adj.describing a mixture of other things, especially two other things. In cars, it describes a mixture of two power sources, such as gasoline and electricity, or solar power and electricity.
vibrate–v.to shake with small, quick movements, usually at a rate of many times per second. For example, the vocal cords in the throat vibrate when a person is speaking.
Why is Venezuela interested in electric cars after having the cheapest gasoline in the world? A few years ago, while the rest of the world awakened to the idea of electric cars, in Venezuela it was unimaginable. With the price of a tank of gasoline at one cent on the dollar, nobody thought about ecology or new automotive technologies. Things have changed.
In the past, Venezuelans used to say cheap gasoline was the only benefit they enjoyed. Now, people have to stand in long lines to fill up and prices have risen considerably, surpassing the international value. The causes of the shortage include the collapse of the national oil company due to lack of maintenance, and the sanctions that prevent the importation of gasoline.
Electric cars, motorcycles and bicycles have become an option for drivers. A few months after the shortage worsened, electric vehicles began to be exhibited in dealerships and on social networks.
Now, although some are seen on the streets, they are not many people’s first choice, after all, many still doubt whether it is a viable alternative because the power grid has collapsed on several occasions leaving the country in the dark for days. Where could you recharge when the city goes without power for 24 hours? Can the constant electrical outages cause damage to the car engine? These are the questions that head a long list of doubts.
The reality is that Venezuela is a country in collapse where electric cars are beginning to be an option. It sounds contradictory that a nation that has experienced around 300,000 electrical failures since 2019 (according to the Committee of People Affected by Blackouts) is becoming interested in vehicles that use this system, but it seems to be related to the process of survival and adaptation.
Also, paradoxical are the costs of these second-hand cars, which range between US$18,000 and US$45,000 in a country where the monthly minimum wage is around US$2. In other words, an average worker would have to work more than 600 years to be able to buy the cheapest version of the models that have arrived in the country, and about 25 years to buy an electric motorcycle.
The entry of vehicles into the country has been made possible by the opening of automobile imports to private individuals, which were restricted until recently by the government. In the past, cars of different brands were assembled in the country but, after a series of national measures that affected the industry over the last 15 years, sales went from 500,000 new units per year to 65 per month, according to figures from the Chamber of Venezuelan Auto Parts Manufacturers.
The scarcity of electric vehicles in the country and the paralysis of a large part of the automotive industry may cause problems with maintaining the vehicles, which also harms buyers, making the option to drive an electric car in Venezuela more unfeasible.
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