Electric vehicle adoption in Brazil: economical analysis and roadmap

Abstract

This study explores the total cost of ownership (TCO) and green premium of electric vehicles (EVs), including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and conventional vehicles, focusing on top-selling models in Brazil. A roadmap is devised to ease EV integration into the Brazilian market. The TCO analysis reveals that PHEVs powered solely by gasoline cost up to $0.084 per kilometre, while using gasoline in dual-fuel mode with 80% biogas reduces costs to $0.038. HEVs saw costs drop from $0.077 per kilometre to $0.054 with bioethanol in dual-fuel mode with 80% biogas. Conventional vehicles using dual-fuel with 20% bioethanol and 80% biogas achieved cost reductions from $0.106 to $0.081 per kilometre. HEVs and conventional vehicles with biofuels demonstrated annual cost savings of up to 11.2% and 14.1%, respectively, compared to gasoline-only use. BEVs, however, showed significantly lower annual costs, being up to 63.7% and 55% less than gasoline-powered HEVs and PHEVs, respectively, and between 60.9% and 73% less than conventional vehicles. The study also outlines policy interventions and infrastructure development to promote EV adoption in Brazil, enhancing sustainable transportation.