On 10 May 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration (2021- ) authorized the direct equity investment in and direct financing to a privately-owned company (micro, small, and medium-size enterprise (MSME)) located in the Republic of Cuba by a Republic of Cuba national. LINK: With U.S. Government Authorization For First Direct Equity Investment Into A Private Company In Cuba, Here Is Important Context And Details. About The Parties; About The Message (May 16, 2022)

What if an MSME in the delivery sector wants their investor in the United States to provide electric vehicles?

Electrek
Quebec, Canada
25 July 2022

Electric Motorcycles Are Taking Over The Streets Of Cuba

With rising fuel costs and shortages across Cuba, the island nation has turned to electric motorcycles en masse. Nowhere is that more apparent than on the streets of Havana. The rise in electric motorcycle usage is largely thanks to government policy, which has regulated the pricing of electric motorcycles while placing limits on imports of gasoline-powered motorcycles.

Due to pricing policy, electric motorcycles were cheaper than gasoline-powered motorcycles for years. Eventually the government outlawed the import of gasoline-powered motorcycles all together, leaving electric as the only option for new purchases. Pricing regulation has kept them affordable for citizens and has helped the electric two-wheelers become a dominant form of transportation in the country.

Estimates put the total number of electric motorcycles, locally referred to as motorinas, at around 300,000. To put that in comparison, there are around 500,000 cars registered in Cuba, according to ABC News. The most popular format for electric motorcycles in Cuba is an electric scooter. These types of motorcycles provide extra utility with step-through frames that are also useful for carrying extra stuff, especially odd-shaped cargo.

Almost all of the electric two-wheelers come from China and are imported through Panama. But a locally produced model known as the Minerva is said to be in the works at an old bicycle factory.

While electric motorcycles were already gaining in popularity in Cuba, the local fuel shortages have continued to push more citizens toward electric motorcycles instead of gas-powered cars. As local rider Alejandro Vasallo explained: Fuel is a lost cause, you have to look for it and queue up. Right now having an electric motorcycle here is life itself.

This isn’t the first time Cubans have turned to electric motorcycles during fuel shortages. Back in 2019 we reported on a similar scenario where fuel shortages and spiking gas prices sent riders onto the backs of electric motorcycles. But that time it was largely everyday citizens who were taking advantage of free electric motorcycle taxi rides. The Cuban government called on private electric motorcycle owners to help and the riders answered the call, volunteering to ferry people around cities in an unofficial electric motorcycle taxi service.

According to Javier Capote, one of the electric motorcycle drivers: We have volunteered to do this as a service to society. It is going very well. We are very happy about it.

After the fuel shortage hit and the Cuban government saw the impact that electric motorcycles had for its citizens, price caps were set on electric motorcycles. That allowed them to be purchased for a maximum of $1,700 at the time and their popularity skyrocketed on the island nation. Now they are turning into a dominant form of transportation, rivaling the number of cars on the streets in many areas of Havana.

Electrek’s Take: This kind of seems like an inevitability to me. It’s where all cities should head, and in fact where many are already well on their way. Cuba just got an extra quick shove in the right direction thanks to the heavy hand of the Cuban government. Cars don’t fit well in cities, period. Cities weren’t built for cars. That’s why most have almost nowhere to safely walk, since streets have had to expand to fill almost the entirety of spaces between buildings. Smaller-format vehicles like electric motorcycles are simply the correct way to reduce the physical space demanded for driving and parking larger vehicles. They are less of a danger to pedestrians than 4,000-lb. vehicles and they don’t pollute the air we all share. Bicycles (and e-bikes) would also be a great solution and should be part of the mix, but electric motorcycles are more helpful for larger streets and roads where the speed of traffic is higher. Hopefully, this ratio of electric motorcycles to cars expands to other Western countries as well. It’s about time.

Electric Motorcycles Flood Havana Amid Diesel Shortages
By Andrea Rodriguez

19 July 2022: HAVANA (AP)- The young people come and go on their electric motorcycles at this highway outside Cuba’s capital where they perform stunts and talk about their two-wheelers, which would be largely silent if it weren’t for the music blasting from speakers.

Cuba has been flooded in recent years with “motorinas,” as the electric scooters are called on the island, which have been promoted by the government as efficient alternatives amid extreme gas and diesel shortages, and as a solution to the country’s transportation problems.

Authorities permitted their importation last decade – Cubans cannot import motorcycles with gasoline or diesel engines – and since then about 300,000 of them have circulated on the island, said Col. Mario Ríos Labrada, head of vehicle registry at the National Transit Directorate. In comparison there are an estimated 500,000 cars. The motorcycles can cost between $2,000 and $5,000. Many originate in China and are imported to Cuba through Panama. Cuban officials say a locally made electric motorcycle called the “Minerva” is being produced at an old bicycle manufacturing warehouse in Villa Clara.

“There is an ‘outbreak’ of electric motorcycles, everyone likes them,” said Ernesto José Salazar, 20, who works in a paint shop. “We got to meet up with 200 motorcycles, honking and listening to music.” Young riders organize through social networks and spend hours discussing the benefits of a battery or where to buy tires or find the best workshop.

“Fuel is a lost cause, you have to look for it and queue up, right now having an electric motorcycle here is life itself,” said Alejandro Vasallo, 23. Cuban drivers face shortages of fuel, especially diesel, which is also used to power the electricity generators that feed the nation’s power grid, which collapsed this summer. Oil shortages have been caused by difficulties in Venezuela – an ally and supplier of the island – and U.S. sanctions.

Electric scooter drivers recharge the batteries through normal power sockets and are out of luck when the supply goes down. Authorities in Cuba promote electric motorcycles as energy efficient and as an alternative to a public transportation system plagued shortages of parts to repair broken down buses and a lack fuel.

“Electricity will always be cheaper than diesel fuel and gasoline, and in addition, electric motors are much more efficient than combustion engines, you can save up to 70% of the cost of fuel,” Ramsés Montes Calzadilla, strategy director of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, said in an interview with news website Cubadebate.

Electric motorcycles are changing the urban landscape in Cuba and also creating challenges: the batteries tend to catch fire and their relative silence accompanied by driver inexperience is causing traffic accidents. The latest figures available from the Fire Department indicated that in the first half of 2020 there were 263 fires from motorcycles with gel or lithium batteries, a notable increase compared to 208 for the entire year 2019.

RideApart
Miami, Florida
27 July 2022

Cuba's Streets Are Bustling With Electric Scooters And Motorbikes
Unsurprisingly, electric scooters are providing Cubans with much-needed mobility.
By: Enrico Punsalang

Cuba is considered by some to be a living, breathing classic car museum, with a sizable chunk of the vehicles on the road there being from the period before the Cuban Revolution. That means 1950's Cadillacs, Chevrolets, Buicks, and Fords can be seen rolling the streets on a near daily basis. Meanwhile, other vehicles consist of then-Soviet made machines, or Poland-produced Fiats. That being said, Cuba is also fast becoming an EV-focused country.

By EV, I don't mean electric cars, but rather, electric scooters and small motorbikes. Unsurprisingly, for a country that has been struggling with acquiring a thoroughly modern form of personal mobility, the country is turning to electric two-wheelers, something that is fast becoming a universally accepted way of getting around, especially in Europe and Asia. While models from mainstream manufacturers aren't likely to hit the Cuban market anytime soon, this doesn't mean that innovation from within the country can't spark a change.

At present, Cuba looks to produce its own electric two-wheelers. The plan is to convert an old bicycle factory to mass produce affordable electric scooters. Indeed, this is no novel concept, and has seen success in certain African and Asian countries. What exactly the folks at Cuba have in store, however, is not known at the moment. Nevertheless, the development of Cuba's own electric scooters and motorbikes will certainly address the need of the local populace for personal mobility.

With cars in scarce supply and reserved only for the ultra wealthy, not to mention the supply issues when it comes to gasoline, electric two-wheelers in the Cuban setting simply make sense. At present, the electric scooter user base in Cuba is growing, and it's forecasted to continue doing so. With most of the electric scooters in the Cuban market coming from China via Panama, they undeniably serve as an attractive alternative to riding bicycles or simply walking. That said, the electric scooter boom in Cuba has provided such relief that the government has stepped in and decided to cap the cost of scooters to $1,700 to keep them accessible.

Links To Republic Of Cuba EV-Related Analyses

BIS "Returned Without Action" License Application To Donate EV Chargers To U.S. Embassy In Havana Because "Ultimate Consignee" Cancelled Transaction March 07, 2022

From U.S. Department Of State: There Is A "lack of trained mechanics on the island to service electric vehicles." So, Who Are Servicing These Vehicles? Is The Video "Fake News" February 11, 2022

U.S. Department Of State Appoints "Chief Sustainability Officer"- Mandate Text Includes Focus On "Electrifying Fleet" And "Host Partners" Does This Mean EVs For Cuba? President Biden Supports? February 10, 2022

While Promoting EV Use In The United States, Biden-Harris Administration Refuses To Permit Exports Of EVs To Cuba For Use By Re-Emerging Private Sector- And U.S. Embassy In Havana Does Not Want One. February 08, 2022

Surprise Decision: Biden-Harris Administration Renews Trump-Pence Administration License To Export EVs To Embassies In Cuba. Company Offers To Donate EV Chargers To U.S. Embassy/Ambassador Residence January 25, 2022

President Biden Rejects BIS License Application To Export Electric Vehicles/Chargers To Cuba's Self-Employed, MSME's. Reversal Of "General Policy Of Approval." President Trump Authorized EV Exports. December 20, 2021

Beginning Today Residents Of Cuba May Purchase And Install Residential Solar Systems. Cost 55,000.00 Pesos (US$2,300.00). Call 7833-3333. November 04, 2021

Cuba Has Nickel And Cobalt. Vehicle Electric Batteries Use Nickel And Cobalt. Cuba Should Benefit. September 25, 2021

Cuba Owes Partner Canada's Sherritt International Corporation Tens Of Millions Of US Dollars. But, Both Cuba & Patient Company (And Shareholders) Anticipate Profitable Role With Electric Vehicles. July 03, 2021

Restriction On Sale Of Premium Gasoline May Benefit Electric Vehicles & Solar Panels; Embassies Concerned. April 07, 2017

Florida Company Receives License To Export Electric Vehicles To Cuba; Charging Stations From New Jersey-Based Company. January 25, 2017