There is an Affordable Electric Ride for Every Belizean!

Belizeans may not always rush to embrace change, but a quiet transportation revolution is already underway. Electric vehicles are moving beyond novelty and luxury, finding their way into private driveways, taxi fleets and public transportation. The shift may be gradual, but it signals that electric mobility is becoming a practical option for more Belizeans. Shane Williams shows us how the country is starting to plug into the future.

 

Shane Williams, reporting

On Friday, BYD unveiled the newest addition to its fleet of electric vehicles. Its Ti 7, a plug-in hybrid SUV loaded with the kind of amenities normally associated with Range Rovers and other luxury brands. The price tag? About one hundred and thirty thousand dollars. But BYD’s Ryan Marin says the vehicle offers an easier path to electric mobility, allowing drivers to either charge the battery or fill up at the pump.

 

Ryan Marin, Managing Director, BYD

“The transition for a lot of people is a lot easier with a vehicle like this. And apart from that, you know, you do get a lot of luxury features, and you get a lot of space for the family. It might seem like this is a very, very expensive SUV, but compared to what’s on the market at this price point, it’s not. You’re getting great value because this vehicle here, for the money, you can’t, you cannot get a vehicle like this that’s brand new with warranty, with after sale support. It just doesn’t exist and that’s why we are so excited to have this model here now.”

 

But the electric revolution doesn’t stop at the luxury showroom. E-Volution already has about sixty electric vehicles in its fleet, including SUVs priced around sixty-thousand dollars.

 

Isani Napata, Program Director, E-Volution Ltd.

“The SUV that we have right now is the Honda eNP1. You could do 320 miles with a full charge. When you buy a diesel vehicle or a gas vehicle, you could say, let’s say you pay thirty thousand for a newer model vehicle. You’re still going to pay a gas, which would then come up to the price of an electric vehicle, compared to buying an electric vehicle for, let’s say, sixty thousand and you pay twenty dollars in electricity or energy to charge that vehicle and it could get you from here to PG, for twenty dollars. You can’t beat that, you know? That’s around the price that you’re paying a bus to go to PG and you do it in your private vehicle in your own comfort.”

 

E-Volution also wants to drive the electric shift into public transportation, with plans to invest significantly in taxis and dollar vans.

 

Isani Napata

“In the next year, we’re looking to invest a million dollars in getting 25 taxis on the street for rent, for the rent-to-own project. We’re looking to add vans as well, seven-seater vans and 11-seater vans as well to the project, so individuals could have the options, and we can also make it more accessible and create more opportunities for taxi drivers.”

 

So, while the private sector is doing its part in providing options for luxury clientele and even the dollar taxi users, it is the public sector that is leading the charge.  The National Bus Company has been testing electric buses through a European Union funded pilot project and is now ready to expand, making its entire fleet electric by 2027.

 

Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Minister of Transport (File: August 25, 2026)

“We were aiming for September to start getting the first ones.  It will look more like January. And so that’s the first, that’s like a third of the seventy-five  buses that the NBC, the seventy-five that we have shared the public that will be needed. So the economics is clear.  And so now we will be able to have that as government’s input into the company. And with the profitability of the company, the company goes out and raises the funds for the other fifty buses.”

 

And municipalities are getting into the movement too. Belize City is looking to expand its municipal electric transport network with additional buses and e-taxis.

 

Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor

“This report was conducted by Dr. Curtis Voodoo, right? He was the e-mobility expert by the UNDP and it speaks to really comparing E-mobility with the ICE vehicles. And in this report it really clearly shows that some of the executive insights, it shows that like forty-one percent lower in costs, right? There are demands for additional bus. We are already working out the areas in that. We are looking at the Central American Boulevard. We are looking at really connecting the Jane Ussher the Yabra, the Pen Road, Fabers Road and some of the Belama Phase four and five areas as well. But we have been working in respect to acquiring three additional buses.”

 

With private companies introducing more affordable options, rent-to-own taxis and government investing in electric public transport, the road to e-mobility is opening up across the country. Shane Williams for News Five.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

Watch the full newscast here: