Chile to ban sale of light and medium internal combustion engines in 2035

Chile has announced the ban of sales of most internal combustion vehicles in favor of battery-electric variants starting in 2035. Under the new electric transport strategy, all sales of light and medium vehicles, public transport and heavy trucks will have to be zero-emission vehicles.

Following the initial 2035 ban, in 2040, the conversion of the rest of the vehicle sales industry will reach 100 per cent of sales of smaller trucks in the construction, agricultural and forestry sectors with zero-emissions regulation. In 2045, all cargo transport and inter-urban buses will also have to be zero emissions. Zero-emissions vehicles here include battery-electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles, so hybrids are out of the picture.

The government has also stated that regulations including norms for vehicle engine conversions will be published for public comment in November, so the decision is not yet entirely final. However, given Chile’s new vehicle registries of only 386 zero and low-emissions vehicles in September, which is 300% up from the previous year, much will have to be done to include Chile’s population in the energy transition. The announced temporary circulation tax cut for EVs and vehicle-to-grid norms certainly fall into this category, and will likely be expanded when the ‘New Energy Transition Bill’ will be introduced in Congress. The bill will address four issues: green hydrogen, boosting renewable energy and distributed generation, and electromobility.

“Today is a historic day for Chile, we have a new electromobility strategy, which allows us to accelerate our goals and align with international standards, thus acquiring the best practices and experiences for a massive incorporation of electromobility in the country. By 2035, 100% of sales of light and medium vehicles will be zero-emissions; 100% of sales of public transport (buses, taxis and collectives) will be zero-emissions; and 100% of sales of major mobile machinery will be zero emissions. All of this will directly benefit the quality of life of Chileans,” said Minister Juan Carlos Jobet.

argusmedia.com, energia.gob.cl (in Spanish)