La Paz, Bolivia, has launched a government-sponsored program that brings doctors to patients living in neighbourhoods far from the city centre. The “Doctor in your house” program uses a fleet of six electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured by Quantum Motors, Bolivia’s only producer of EVs. The program is a pioneering idea that aims to protect the health of those in need, while protecting the environment and supporting local production.
Quantum Motors’ EVs
Built like a box, the Quantum moves no more than 35 mph and can be recharged from a household outlet. It can travel 50 miles before recharging and costs $7,600. The company hopes the car will help revive dreams of a lithium-powered economy and make EVs something the masses will embrace. Bolivia has the world’s largest reserve of lithium, a key component in electric batteries, but has yet to extract and industrialise its vast resources of the metal.
José Carlos Márquez, general manager of Quantum Motors, says e-mobility will prevail worldwide in the next few years, but it will be different in different countries. Tesla will be a dominant player in the US, with its speedy, autonomous cars. But in Latin America, cars will be more compact because the streets are more similar to those of Bombay and New Delhi than to those of California.
Challenges Ahead
In the four years since it released its first EVs, Quantum Motors has only sold 350 cars in Bolivia and an undisclosed number of units in Peru and Paraguay. The company is also set to open a factory in Mexico later this year, but no further details have been provided on the scope of production there.
Despite the challenges ahead, the makers of the Quantum car are hopeful that programs like “Doctor in your house,” which is scheduled to double in size and extend to other neighbourhoods next year, will help boost production and churn out more EVs across the region. The company is ready to grow, and its inventory has been sold out through July.
Leave a Reply