• Easy Car places record 100-strong order for July delivery

• Eyes further oil price boost as ‘selling autos before arrival’

• ‘No indication’ of any fall-out from nickel, commodity shock

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian electric car dealer yesterday voiced optimism that it will “double” year-over-year vehicle sales in 2022 having just placed a record 100-strong order with its Chinese supplier.

Pia Farmer, partner in Easy Car Sales, told Tribune Business that the business was “selling the cars before they even arrive here” amid hopes that soaring gasoline prices - driven even higher by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - will drive even more demand for electric vehicles.

Confirming that the dealership is “hoping for and preparing for” such an outcome, she asserted that $1 spent with Bahamas Power & Light (BPL) on charging an electric vehicle translates into travelling the same distance as a normal combustion engine fuelled with $5 of gasoline.

Ms Farmer, pointing out that this translated into an 80 percent savings, suggested the transition to electric vehicles will make The Bahamas more energy dependent through reducing reliance on foreign fossil fuel supplies; benefit the environment from reduced carbon dioxide emissions; and limit the drain on the country’s foreign currency inflows and external reserves to buy fuel imports.

And, while soaring nickel and commodity prices in the wake of the Ukraine conflict have raised fears that the cost and supply of electric vehicles will be negatively impacted, Ms Farmer said Easy Car’s Chinese supplier had given no indication of any problems.

Nickel, for which heavily-sanctioned Russia provides 10 percent of the world’s supply, is a vital element in electric vehicle batteries. However, Ms Farmer said BYD Auto, her dealership’s supplier, built its own batteries in China far away from the conflict zone.

“I’ve no indication that there’s any kind of shocks,” she told this newspaper. “I’ve just made a huge order, more than 100 vehicles, and everything is fine. What we’ve been experiencing is shipping delays. The demand is very high. I’m selling before the cars even arrive here. It’s moving very quickly.

“Last year we exceeded all our expectations. We had set goals coming out of COVID that we thought very ambitious and exceeded all out targets, ending up selling 9 percent of new vehicles in The Bahamas. This year we have doubled our goals in terms of the number of vehicles sold, although we won’t double our percentage in terms of market share.”

Ms Farmer explained that the 100-vehicle strong order that has just been placed is scheduled to arrive in The Bahamas this July. And, prior to that, two other shipments - totalling around a similar 100 vehicles - is expected to reach from China.

“We’ve been planning all the way to 2023,” she explained. “The sales are growing exponentially. We were already cheaper on electric vehicles before this [oil price] increase. One dollar of BPL’s electricity will contribute to going the same distance as $5 of gasoline.

“It’s about an 80 percent savings in fuel costs, even though the cost of electricity may go up. Oil and gas made into electricity is more efficient than gas in a combustion engine. It’s four times’ more efficient.”

The Easy Car Sales partner said the dealership had sold around 140 electric vehicles in 2021, and was targeting between 250 and 300 this year. While the numbers may not appear huge to some, she added that its 9 percent Bahamian market share was “above average” and greater than the current world average of 6 percent.

Some such as Sir Franklyn Wilson, chairman of FOCOL Holdings, the Shell distributor, have argued that electric vehicle sales have been boosted by a government-friendly tax policy that has lowered Excise rates in a bid to encourage greater uptake via more competitive pricing.

This has been driven by a desire for more environmentally-friendly fuels, and the target of generating 30 percent of the country’s energy mix from renewable sources by 2030. However, several observers have pointed out that such policies potentially create a real conundrum or dilemma, for the Government’s tax system and income.

This is because petroleum-based fossil fuels are among the greatest tax earners for the Government via VAT and import tariffs. Thus any move to phase-out, or reduce, fossil fuel dependency will strike the Government’s income without alternative revenue streams being unlocked.

Ms Farmer, though, reiterated her belief that electric vehicles provide Bahamians with “more money in their pocket” through reduced fuel and maintenance costs.

“We really have to act on that [energy independence] and become less reliant on gas coming from outside sources, which will save us a lot on the reserves,” she told this newspaper. “We have to empower ourselves.”

With Easy Car’s lowest price standing at $27,000, Ms Farmer conceded that it will be a while before a pre-owned electric vehicle market of sufficient scale becomes established in The Bahamas.

“I’m on a mission. I want to change the way people transport and move goods,” she added. “If we take a gas car off the road, every gas car with a combustion engine emits 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. For every one I get off the road I feel we’ve made a difference, and that’s our mission.

“We cannot afford that any more. We have to be more sustainable, and do the best we cab to change the world of transport.” Ms Farmer said one-third of Easy Car Sales’ vehicle purchases currently go to corporate clients.

She added that Cable Bahamas had begun its vehicle fleet transition some two to three years ago with three autos, and had expanded this every year. Lend a Hand Bahamas and DHL were also cited by Ms Farmer as examples of organisations that have gone fully electric or close to.

“The minimum range on the full charge is 180 miles on an island 21 miles by seven miles,” she added. “They can go up to 340 miles. All these vehicles come with eight-year warranties. The batteries are for life. The technology has moved to quickly, and gone so far. It has exciting possibilities, and we’ll see where it goes.”