In a major win for Latin American air quality, the new 750 mile Ruta-E electric truck corridor will connect Bogotá and Cartagena with charging infrastructure built to support the more than 1,000 commercial EVs set to hit Colombia’s roads by 2032.
Electric can still be a tough sell to fleet buyers in the US, where a century-long relationship with an established network of gas and diesel fueling stations has built deep sense of trust in a mature fueling network. It’s a different story in Latin America, however, where filling stations are less dense and less reliable, and where electricity is becoming far more ubiquitous. You may not find a DC fast charger as easily as you like, but you can almost always find power. In those environments, range anxiety can cut both ways, and the goal for fleet operators anywhere in the capitalist world is ultimately the same: do what it takes to keep the wheels turning.
Colombia gets it, which is why the nation’s Ministry of Transport is working with American non-profit CALSTART to launch Ruta-E, Colombia’s first zero-emission freight logistics corridor connecting the port city of Bogotá to the interior city of Cartagena nearly 1,200 km (~745 miles) away with enough new infrastructure to support over 1,000 new battery-electric commercial trucks.
