Guayaquil became the first city in Ecuador to have a Terpel Voltex charging stationa massive fast charging station 440 volts.
It is a private initiative that was born by a strategic alliance between Terpel and Kia Motors and that was inaugurated this Thursday inside the service station located between the avenues of the Americas and Juan Tanca Marengo, in the north.
In the place, the directors of both companies carried out the first charge of an electric vehicle at the service station, which required an investment of around $100,000which included the electrical infrastructure, civil works and the charger.
About freight cost to user, Germán Ramírez, general manager of Terpel Ecuador, indicated that 25 cents per kilowatt/hour will be charged, which for a vehicle with 50 kW of capacity would represent between $10 and $12 per full charge.
Electric cars could be an option in the face of rising gasoline prices, but how much do they cost? Who can access them?
“It is an important saving for the same autonomy of an internal combustion vehicle, we are talking about a quarter of what it costs to tank a vehicle with gasoline,” explained Ramírez, who highlighted that this type of charging station, with the Terpel Voltex brand, they already operate in Chile, Colombia and Panama; and revealed that the brand has entered into agreements with various dealers that sell electric vehicles in Ecuador, positioning itself as the best option for charging outside the home.
“In the short term we want to support the adoption of electromobility in the country, promoting the use of electric vehicles, and for this we inaugurate charging stations in strategic places; In the long term, we aim to be leaders in the commercialization of new energies in Ecuador,” said Ramírez, who announced that the goal for this year is to install at least 9 charging stations in the country, including a network in the coastal area to interconnect Guayaquil with cities such as Salinas, Manta and Machala, as well as with Santo Domingo and cities in the mountains such as Quito, Ibarra and Cuenca. For this, an annual investment of approximately $1 million is foreseen.
Meanwhile, the first vehicle to receive the charge was a Kia Soul, the first electric car model to arrive in Ecuador in 2016, highlighted Ricardo Rosales, CEO of Kia Motors Ecuador.
“Since then (in 2016) we have begun to market in different cities and today we have come to have public service or private use vehicles and even a single-brand sports electric vehicle. The first in Latin America”, highlighted Rosales, who recalled that six years ago Ecuadorian executives viewed the start of the commercialization of electric cars in a small country like Ecuador with a bit of mistrust, but assured that currently the country is an example at regional level. “You know that in the development of electric vehicles, Ecuador is ahead in Latin America,” said the manager.
EV6, Kia’s 100% electric vehicle, completed its first trip on the Quito-Guayaquil non-stop route
He also clarified that Kia already has operations in the country 38 charging stationsincluding Galapagos, but these are 220-volt stations, called intermediate load stations.
“Six years ago they also told us that it was impossible for people to buy electric vehicles because there were no charging stations and we started working on 220-volt intermediate charging stations, which were installed in shopping centers. Also with the support of some municipalities that gave us the space to place the charging stations at no cost to users and that has allowed not only the Kia brand but also other brands to benefit, “said Rosales.
The manager explained that the difference between the existing stations and the new Terpel Voltex lies in the loading times. He said that a 110-volt long-range vehicle needs approximately 12 hours of charging, and between 6 and 7 hours at 220 V, but at a Terpel Voltex station, 80% of the battery can be charged in just 20 minutes.
Rosales revealed that the brand is in the second stage of a plan to massify electromobility in the country.
He specified that the first stage was to take out vehicles with autonomies of 160 km to 200 km; the current second stage with batteries from 500 km to 560 km; and by 2025 the brand plans to produce battery-powered vehicles with autonomy of 1,000 km.
“With 1,000 kilometers of autonomy, you can already operate a public transport vehicle, because you have to understand that asking a public transport driver who works all day to stop two or three times (to recharge) is not productive; however, with the batteries of 1,000 km of autonomy it is totally feasible for public service vehicles, they can be interprovincial, intercantonal buses or buses within the city”, said Rosales.
CNEL has installed 41 meters to record consumption in electric cars in homes; sustainable mobility continues at a slow pace in Ecuador
Payment is through an app
Meanwhile, Ramírez indicated that the Terpel Voltex station operates under the self-service model, which means that it is available to users 24 hours a day and will be operated by them, through a mobile application on their cell phones.
This application, explained the general manager of Terpel, will allow the user to reserve their charging shift in advance, or failing that, it will enable them to go directly to the charging station and activate the charging service at that time.
The payment is made through a payment gateway that accepts all credit cards. The user will be able to activate the charger with the amount or quantity of energy that is required. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
