Tech Roundup: Electric cars gain steam in Brazil

This week’s topics: In line with global trends, Brazil’s electric vehicle market is booming. AgTech firms all the rage in Brazil. After years of delays, the country’s 5G auction is imminent. 

Electric cars booming in Brazil

Brazil’s electric cars market obliterated previous records in the first four months of 2021, according to data from the Brazilian Electric Vehicle Association (ABVE). Almost 7,300 new vehicles were licensed, a 29.4 percent increase from the same period last year.

Momentum. April was the all-time best month for electric cars in Brazil, with more than 2,000 new units licensed. That is twice as many as the entire production in 2016.

• Analysts expect the trend to continue rising. By next year, the country should have at least 28,000 electric cars on the road. While paling in comparison to other markets, this would represent a 42-percent increase from 2020.

Big picture. The segment’s boom shows that “Brazil is joining the global trend of electric cars,” says Toyota’s government affairs manager in Brazil, Thiago Sugahara, speaking to The Brazilian Report.

• For ABVE President Adalberto Maluf, “in these Covid times, Brazilian consumers made a clear bet on non-polluting and sustainable vehicles.”

Still small. Even with recent strides, the segment remains niche. Last year, electric car sales represented just 1 percent of the entire vehicle market. Even with record figures in April, sales only hit 1.6 percent. For Mr. Sugahara, the segment’s biggest problem is the disparity in tax between electric and traditional cars.

• “The goal is always to try to reduce the tax burden on electric vehicles, which...