Latin American cities have strong opportunities to electrify buses, taxis, urban freight and municipal fleets, particularly where electricity already has a relatively low carbon intensity.
In Quito, SOLUTIONSplus worked on light electric freight vehicles and local business development. This work contributed to follow-on and replication activities in Ecuador and other Latin American cities. In Montevideo, local companies developed electric cargo bicycles, tricycles and quadricycles, accompanied by logistics demonstrations and charging infrastructure for light electric vehicles.
UNEP supports electric bus, light-duty vehicle and wider electric mobility programmes across the region, including work in Costa Rica, Peru, Ecuador and Caribbean island states. Regional cooperation can help countries share standards, procurement knowledge, financing approaches and experience from demonstrations.
Regional Platform
The Latin America platform brings together regional efforts to advance sustainable and electric mobility across cities and countries. Through collaborative initiatives, knowledge sharing, and capacity‑building, it supports governments, practitioners, and local partners in developing policies, piloting innovative mobility solutions, and scaling e‑mobility strategies. As part of this regional ecosystem, GEMP: Centro de Movilidad Sostenible plays a central role by providing tools, training, and technical support to accelerate the transition toward cleaner and more efficient transport systems in Latin America.
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Policy Advice Paper: Regulations for Light Electric Vehicles (LEV)
The emergence and take up of e-mobility and new mobility services and concepts, such as carsharing and delivery platforms, have brought along new vehicle types and with that concepts such as micromobility and Light Electric Vehicles (LEV).