Within the framework of the “Car Free Day” in Bogota, the president of General Motors International, Shilpan Amin, and the president of General Motors South America, Santiago Chamorro, met with the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, to coordinate efforts with the aim of having the first electric vehicle assembly plant in the region.
According to information obtained by Canal 1, during the tour, Amin held conversations with the Colombian executives, in which he inquired about their expectations with the current government and its position for the performance of the automotive sector in the country during this period.
The responses were positive, especially for the announcements of the new administration in proposing an energy transition in the country, a commitment that has been highlighted since its installation.
Amin posed the question “So committed that Colombia will be the first country in Latin America where we will assemble our electric vehicles?”. The executives responded affirmatively.
Several Approaches
According to General Motors executives in Colombia, meetings about electric vehicles and their assembly in the country have already been held with the Executive Power. However, no concrete projects are known yet.
The Director of Government Relations, Communications and ESG of General Motors (GM), Santiago Ángel Urdinola, made a statement on this process and pointed out that in Colombia, the future of the automotive sector would be electric.
In this sense, plans such as Chevrolet‘s, with the design of a total electrification strategy that considers among its most important points local production, technological development and employment generation in the nation, are so decisive for this sector.
If the idea comes to fruition, Colombia could not only attract a millionaire investment; it could also become a power in the region in the assembly and export of electric vehicles.
Regional Leadership
According to the “Urban Mobility Readiness Index 2022“, a report on the challenges facing metropolises in the field of mobility, Bogota leads Latin American cities with the most progress in sustainable mobility.
Ranked 34th in the global ranking, the Colombian capital is recognized for prioritizing the electrification of transportation, developing emission-free zones, investing in recharging infrastructure and offering incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles.
In addition, they focus on the development of electric bus fleets.
