The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

MAKING conventional gasoline vehicles cheaper is “not the answer” to the government’s environmental sustainability drive, a Bahamian electric car dealer is arguing.

Pia Farmer, a director at Easy ECO Car Sales, is also voicing disappointment that the duty rate on 100 percent electric commercial vehicles valued at over $50,000 was not “harmonised” at ten percent.

She told Tribune Business: “We need to move away from gas to cleaner, more sustainable options now. The world’s environmental crisis requires us to act. Making conventional gas cars cheaper is not going to help our environment, our health or our pocketbooks.”

Mrs Farmer added that the cost of operating an electric vehicle (EV) is roughly 65 percent less than gasoline-powered models. “The savings in combination with solar are even more pronounced. EVs also require minimal service and have about 1,000 fewer parts to repair, replace or throw away in the landfill,” she said.

“So the consumer benefits from a much lower overall cost of ownership with an EV. If our aim is to conserve resources, gas vehicles are not the way forward. The real issue is not that people are going to pay less for combustion engine vehicles up to two litres, because the duty is now 45 per cent versus 10 per cent electric, but that in doing so, they will pay more money to operate and service the vehicle over its lifetime, and they will continue to make very inefficient use of our resources compared to EVs. We have cleaner, more efficient, better options available today. Making gas cars cheaper is not the answer; it’s just clinging to an outdated technology.”

K Peter Turnquest, deputy prime minister and minister of finance, said during the 2019-2020 budget presentation: “To advance our commitment to environmental sustainability, we have tailored several measures with an aim to not only protect the environment, but also to increase environmental awareness across all islands.

“These measures include: Reducing the duty on new vehicles between 1.5 litres (1500cc) and 2.0 litres (2000cc) valued at $50,000 or less from 65 percent to 45 percent. In this context, only cars with less than 200 miles on the odometer will be considered ‘new’. This makes smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles more affordable.”

To this Mrs Farmer said: “This was a concession to new car dealers who wanted to offer more models under a lower import tax rate for conventional combustion engine vehicles. This does not significantly help the nation move away from our reliance on gasoline.

“It’s worth noting that the government has announced investments in solar power. Electric vehicles (EVs) are a natural partner to renewables as EVs are solar ready. So you can have solar panels on your roof and charge your vehicle from the sun. That’s the ideal sustainability we should aim for and encourage.”

The government is also harmonising the rates on all new electric and hybrid vehicles valued up to $50,000 to ten percent. That measure will, however, have a sunset clause of five years, after which this special revision will revert closer to the rates for other small size vehicles.

“I thought we already had a harmonised ten per cent rate for EVs and hybrids under $50,000,” said Mrs Farmer. “We are disappointed that 100 percent electric commercial vehicles which cost more than $50,000, such as trucks of all sizes and descriptions, and buses, were not harmonised to the ten percent rate.

“Electric bucket trucks, garbage collection vehicles, trailer trucks and buses of all sizes are now available in The Bahamas and there is great interest in these products, but the 65 percent duty rate doesn’t encourage our businesses to transition to cleaner, quieter and more efficient electric transportation. There is no incentive to be an agent of change.

“Bear in mind these are not luxury vehicles, and they affect our quality of life every day. Imagine electric Jitneys on our roads, or quiet trucks without dirty emissions that fill the air we breathe as we sit in traffic. Let’s hope we can move in that direction and let go of our gas addiction before the ‘Sunset Clause’ expires.”