SHENZHEN-BASED electric vehicle giant BYD Co. and Europe’s biggest utility Enel on Friday marked the arrival of 100 electric buses in Chile and said they would work together on similar plans for three other Latin American nations.

Enel provided the financing for Chile to acquire the buses from BYD for the capital Santiago, as well as the charging stations.

Chile represents a jumping-off point into Latin America for two companies both seeking to dominate a green car revolution that is projected to see electric and hybrid vehicles account for 30 percent of the global market by 2030.

Alberto Piglia, Enel’s global head of e-mobility, said that BYD and Enel were talking to the governments of Brazil, Peru and Colombia as well as private firms with a view to offering the same model.

“This is a starting point for us and we will continue to work as we are doing in Chile and across the region,” he said. “There will be an imitation game — others will see how good this is and adapt it to their local markets.”

He said Enel X, Enel’s “e-Solutions” division, would invest more than 300 million euros (US$340 million) in electromobility next year, including extending its 30-million-euro investment in Chile this year to other parts of Latin America.

Chile’s ambitious plan involves rolling out electric scooters, cars, taxis and trucks to increase the number of electric vehicles tenfold by 2022 and electrify public transport entirely by 2050.

Stella Li, BYD’s vice president, said there was no need to wait to 2050. “We can do that in the next five to 10 years if they want,” she said. “Shenzhen, the fourth-largest city in China, electrified all its buses in three years. If you bring the finance model, you don’t need government to put a lot of money in, just to provide the policy and utility and private companies will figure it out.”

Li said BYD would be bidding to provide more buses for Santiago. (SD-Agencies)