• 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.”
Comments
Proguing 2 years, 1 month ago
If China invades Taiwan, what happens to these Chinese cars?
tribanon 2 years, 1 month ago
They then become chip-less whenever in need of repair. LOL
tribanon 2 years, 1 month ago
It's clear Pia Farmer sees these electric vehicles as a flash in the pan business opportunity and she's going all out to strike while the iron is hot.
Pia knows these are times when the wealthier fools prone to a knee jerk reaction will go out and buy the very expensive equivalent of the gloried suped-up golf carts she is selling. After all, she remembers all the fools in the U.S. who went out and bought small expensive hybrid vehicles the last time there was geo-political turmoil that sent gasoline prices through the roof.
Pia would have you believe electric vehicles will not only put money in your pockets but also allow you to be a participant in that great worthy Green New Deal cause to save our planet. But let's think all of this through for a brief moment. The glorified golf carts she wants you to buy are being manufactured in Red China which is well known to be the most polluting country in the world because of its heavy reliance on dirty coal energy. And then there's Red China's notorious reputation for human rights abuses that no doubt impacts the 'slave' labourers involved in the manufacture of these electric vehicles.
I can't imagine owning one of these suped-up golf carts when the price of a barrel of oil gets back down to the $60-$80 range. And can you imagine she claims, no doubt with a straight face, that the battery has a life-time warranty....keep in mind that's not your life-time but rather the battery's much shorter life-time (or perhaps the shorter life-time of mainly plastic vehicle itself) that she wants to sell you for not less than $27,000 plus VAT.
And for Pia to say the gloried suped-up plastic golf cart she wants to sell you will save you 80 cents on the dollar is truly laughable. She clearly knows little about physics or chemistry otherwise she would know a thing or two about the conservation law of energy. What she should be disclosing to prospective buyers is the true cost per mile over the expected life of the vehicle assuming snail pace driving on our congested roads. But if she disclosed that very important piece of information there would likely be few if any interested buyers.
And are all of those batteries eventually going to end up in our public dumps to poison our environment? Please, give me a break!
pileit 2 years, 1 month ago
You don't know what you're talking about. Yet you wrote so much.
tribanon 2 years, 1 month ago
ZZZZZzzzzzz.......
John 2 years, 1 month ago
The price of oil dropped to under $100 a barrel and the price of gas fell by fifty-one cents overnight. But nevertheless the major US carmakers announced even before the Russia invasion that they will increase their electric vehicle production. Ford says most of its pickups will be electric after 2025 and other auto dealers are following suit. In the main time it costs around $25,000 to change the battery in a Tesla vehicle in the US. That is $40,000 here. So that battery better last a lifetime. And that Better be a human lifetime.
Bobsyeruncle 2 years, 1 month ago
Get solar installed on your house along with a 240 volt Level 2 EV charger, and you could probably not have to worry about gas prices again. Given the size of the Islands, range should not be an issue on a daily basis (unlike in the US). Admittedly, up front costs are high, but the long term future cost of petrol, gas & electricity is only going one way
pileit 2 years, 1 month ago
This is exactly what I did over 2 years ago. Cruising around for free. Good thing I do my own assessments instead of listening to lemmings like "Tribanon"
tribanon 2 years, 1 month ago
Must be nice to be among the Green New Deal wealthy with more money to waste than common sense. LOL
bahamianson 2 years, 1 month ago
Not range but you save more when you are driving in america than sitting in traffic on this island that is only 21 ling by 7 wide.
carltonr61 2 years, 1 month ago
Speculation Wall Street millions got a shock when POTUS the prime pusher of these new and emerging technologies refused to answer Heather he had one. With the 10000% volatile market for copper and lithium a new battery may cost 20,000.00 to 50,000.00 dollars. Alfred Sears is also on track to push this million dollar wastage agenda upon our peoples pockets. We cannot become violently prostituted go this selling package already facing doom around the world. Imagine a hurricane water drenched short circuit guts digging specialist wire repair. So gross.
Mr-G 2 years, 1 month ago
BYD,, still a $16,000 car that costs us here $32000 + and with low duty ??? get real sell more.... ( On September 2nd, BYD’s new EV, BYD e2, was officially launched. The official guide price is 89,800 – 119,800 yuan (~US$12,516 – US$16,678) , it offers four trims. BYD e2 is powered by a 70kW(93hp) electric motor and the NEDC range has two versions of 189miles(305km) and 251miles(405km).
TalRussell 2 years, 1 month ago
We gov needs mandate it compulsory expose lil ones and todays teenage gang members to backyard agriculture and farming, ― Yes?
g9822033 2 years ago
If you want an EV then this is the only practical solution in the country at the moment. The more you drive the more you save. A gas bill might be $50 a week for a typical consumer, realistically the equivalent in electricity costs is closer to $15. So that represents a saving of $35 a week or about $1800 a year. So depending on the price difference between a gas and electric car the purchase based on savings may or may not be justified. I'm an EV owner and there's some saving in the service costs so that might add a further $300 a year saving in servicing. But this misses the point in my experience the fact is that electric cars perform differently to gas cars in a good way. As for which brand people prefer time will tell but since there's only one option in the country it is what it is. The other dealers seem to be 'sleeping at the wheel' so I can't blame them for seizing the opportunity.
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