Editor’s note: This article has been updated with a correction to information which it initially contained indicating that electric vehicles are subject to VAT. This is not the case.
Hurricane Maria took a lot, including our two cars. They were taken by an avalanche of boulders that rolled by our home in Trafalgar. When the insurance adjuster came to visit to “see” the vehicles, and we explained they were gone and had never been seen again, he said “I will have to check with head office as we always need to see the damage to verify the claim.” Well, thankfully, insurance paid and in considering what vehicles to purchase, my wife Sandra and I were quick to think “why not an EV (electric vehicle)?”. Our friends Tim and Jessica had a Nissan Leaf (Dominica’s first EV), and Barbados was full of Leafs, so we decide to go that route. Our two new Leafs arrived May 2019, and we’ve never looked back.
Why the love affair?
EVs are Better for the Environment and for neighborhoods. No fumes, no emissions, no noise…….. because there is no “engine”, no muffler!
EVs require very little Maintenance. There is no oil or filter changes required, no spark plugs, no pistons, no injectors, no “engine”. In three years the only maintenance has been flat tires. Big savings.
EVs are Much Cheaper than Gas. We spend about 1/5th in electricity when compared to what we spent on fuel, and that’s when fuel prices are “normal” – now savings would be greater.
EVs are Beautifully Silent. No noise of engine starting, no noise when running. Listen to the sounds of nature instead, or your favorite music.
EVs have Speed. These cars can overtake almost anything, and on a hill too! But please don’t abuse that power with fast driving.
EVs are easy to Charge. One charge takes about 4 hours and gives you 200km of driving. So I charge 2 – 3 times a week, and Sandra charges 1 – 2 times. And we charge at night, while sleeping. There is also a mobile charger in the trunk so you can plug into any a/c outlet if you every get stuck. Happened to Sandra once when her battery was very low, so she pulled into a friend’s yard, plugged in for a short while, and continued home.
EVs Recharge Downhill. I love to drive from Pont Cassé to anywhere – The EV gains charge, because its mostly downhill. For Dominica, that’s a big plus.
But like with any affair, there are a few complications. First, they are not cheap to buy. Leafs range between us$10,000 for a used one and use$40,000 for a new one, and when you add excise tax and other taxes, it is plenty money. Second complication is that no local dealer has stepped into the sales and service business so parts are not readily available (but again, we have not needed any in 3 years other than as a result of my recent accident where the front got damaged).
Dominica has about 6 EVs currently, Barbados has 700. And we are the Nature Island! Government has removed duty but we need more aggressive incentives (a limited time without excise tax) so that we can get to 50 very soon, and grow from there. That will create some traction and more confidence. Secret Bay and Fort Young will have EV charging stations in the future, and hopefully the airport will as well…….
Imagine visitors arriving to Dominica and being welcomed into an EV taxi. Now that’s a nature island experience. There are also electric scooters, skateboards, bicycles and motorcycles – all transformative experiences and better for the environment and great options for private and public mobility. We highly recommend the “electric mobility” experience. Its truly amazing.
And this from electrec.co: “In 2019, 2.2 million electric cars were sold, representing just 2.5% of global car sales. In 2020, the overall car market contracted but electric car sales bucked the trend, rising to 3 million and representing 4.1% of total car sales. In 2021, electric car sales more than doubled to 6.6 million, representing close to 9% of the global car market and more than tripling their market share from two years earlier.”
So this is an irreversible trend and a specific choice and action we can make/take to kick the fossil fuel dependency and counter global warming….. we need to get on board for the ride….. especially our Nature Island ride.
Special thanks to Tim and Jessica for encouraging us…..
Special thanks to Lennox Johnson of Trojohn Motorworks Limited who got preliminary training in Barbados and takes care of our vehicles for us…. once Lennox got up to speed on these vehicles he said “if you can fix a fan, you can fix an electric vehicle!”…… its essentially an electric motor…..
P.S. Anyone interested can take a trial spin.
“If you can fixed a fan, you can fix an electric vehicle”
That is a myth, but since Dominica is a place when the myth of little green men and dungeons seems real, to a Dominican that myth will be believed.
No such thing!
It depends on what type of electric car this Barbados trained is talking about; this guy perhaps never touched a sophisticated Electric Motor vehicle totally and completely computerized, he perhaps never even rest his hand on the body of the one never mind have to deal with power-trans.
Talk and making believe until he have to deal with the real thing!
One of them took how many thousands of dollars from a priest claiming to fix his car, each time he gave it back to the priest as he brought it him.
them does just talk crap. let them think fixing a fan is like an electric vehicle. on person even say it costing them 50ec to charge there car every month. laugh alone i laughing. them electric cars does take sometimes 12 hours to charge from a normal plug socket. then they talking about charging it off solar . boy i does laugh. i have they have the $10000 it costing to build a solar system powerfull enough to charge an electric cars. and by the way is not solar that charging the car its the $6000 plus dollars off batteries that in ur house that charging the car . of the grid charging in 45 minutes take a very powerfull charger and that is $8000 plus ( my prices are in us dollars yuh so doh think it cheap ) and the way domlec bending people over they better know its cheaper to just use diesel or gasoline
Many people in Dominica have solar or can get solar for their home. You can charge your home, and your car for very low cost. Dominica a small island so you do not have to worry about not being able to get a charging station(just go home!) Dominica needs to support EV vehicles. The rest of the world is, and it will save you money since you don’t have to pay for gas, and they have very little maintenance (no engine, no emission)
Excellent article and right on the button!!
Once the initial cost is overcome the savings are realized. I anticipate in the next few years costs would gradually go down as demand increases – just as with computers, electronics and solar.
It is necessary to have clear policies on where we want to be by say, 2035 as far as protecting the environment is concerned.
I was looking for the Set goals and milestones set by the Ministry responsible for Green Economy but could not find it – maybe I do not know where to look. If it is available, someone please enlighten me and guide me to it.
The point is we need clear strategic, attainable goals and timelines on Climate Change, on renewable energy, electric vehicles and reduction in fossil fuels, revitalization of the agricultural sector, reduction in food import bill, diversification and at least light manufacturing and agro-processing.
I know it is not always easy but having those articulated goals guides to swifter success.
I also drive an EV, and i believe that is one of the wisest decisions that i have made. in terms of cost, i pay approximately $50 ec a month to run my car. i drive every single day, at approximately 40 km a day. only charge once a week. i can get 400km from one charge. and the amount i paid was relatively less than what the writer paid for his leaf. So, i absolutely would not recommend the leaf. there are many other super EV brands out there. I think the biggest issue in dca is being able to change off the batteries after about 8 years of use. or lets say if something happened to it. because it’ll be quite an expensive venture. with a representative company in Dominica, the after sales services can be properly done, and batteries cann be changed for free (at least that’s the deal i got). so, its a very good investment, you’d just need to choose wisely.
you doh tired lie
Would buy an EV but the road we live on is too rocky. The options for 4×4 ev are even more expensive or look more like an outback hunting vehicle.
I am neither for or against ev. Before people go falling in love with some things one must understand what they’re talking about. Internal combustion vehicles ICV have been tainted for polluting through exhaust fumes etc. Fair enough,EV on the other hand don’t have emissions fair enough. However until that day when whole areas don’t have to be mined, dredged, desecrated to get rare earth metals then they’re both polluting the environment just in different ways. Electric vehicles especially in 3rd world countries where the components can’t be reused or recycled pose an even greater pollution risk. Lithium ion batteries are also highly explosive. A collision could lead to a fire. Also requires specialist to work on them. It is the future but the technology isn’t there yet. I work on diesel electric hybrid machines. They have the pros but they have very expensive cons.
The fact that we still have soooo many different charges when importing the most basic of things. The duties, taxes and other charges that makes no sense add that to the process of clearing anything at all on thr port. The powers that be don’t have to go through all that eno, is us de maliway dat does still suffer. That port needs an upgrade of the ancient and outdated system that we are using or else the poor man in Dominica wont be able to afford to import even a needle. Just calculate how much it will cost you to import a used car 2020 model with 12000 km in the dial. is best i get a donkey eh. Meanwhile the Chinese don’t pay taxes. Dominica is for the rich to live and the poor to work. No amount of EV will save us from that.
BTW DUTY FREE DOES NOT MEAN ALL OTHER CHARGES ARE MADE NULL AND VOID EH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ALL PWELL TAX STILL HAVE TO GET COUNTED.
i wish you luck with your electric vehicle my broda in 5 years time when you need new battery i hope you have the kommeh thousands just to replace the batteries. and by the way VOLVO produced and article pointing out that electric vehicles are actually WORSE for the environment . especially in dca where your power is majority diesel fuel produced. it will take upwards of 90000 miles of driving before and electric vehicle is cleaner than a gas powered one. and by then youl need to put a new battery in the car and that resets your clock to 40000 miles. so thank you for bringing a car into Dominica that cant even be properly recycled in a developed country. so that battery just gonna sit and produce toxic elements 5 times more toxic when it starts to rot compared to rotting iron on a normal car. by the way rotting iron is actually environmentally friendly ( surprising isnt it ) you electric car will NEVER be environmentally friendly in Dominica
Or at least, consider a 50% reduction in VAT for EVs
Mr nassief you are talking about your love affair with a stupid electric car while people have no jobs. CBI money is finished, maybe not for you yet. Food prices are rising gas prices skyrocketed and you have a very nice affair with your stupid electric car. NEP workers not sure what will happen with them in the next few months, yes we care same problem as NEP workers. Take your stupid car and put it where the sun dosen’t shine
The price of electric vehicles is an impediment to entry for most people who live in North America who do not have to contend with exorbitant import duties and excise taxes. I cannot see significant market penetration in a place where the best most people can do is buying used cars that in most places are past their useful lives.
My friend one way or the other it is going to be expensive; I have a tenant right this minuet have a electric equip motor car which need a battery, it sitting there for many days now, she told me the reason it siting in front of the building, is because the battery cost a $1,000.00 and she does not have the money to buy one.
If that car remains parked there by street sweeping day the city is going to have it towed, in city storage will cost more than a hundred dollars per day, that means she will loose her car, it will be sold in storage!
Zandoli, eventually all Motor Vehicles are going to be electric operated; the reason is fossil fuel operated cars trucks, ect., are major contributors to Global Warming, they pollute the air, by emitting plenty of Co2.
They contribute to the damage cause to the ozone barrier; the Ozone is a molecule containing three oxygen atoms that can only exist in specific circumstances where temperature and pressure are adequate. The ozone layer acts as a radiation barrier and allows ultraviolet light to pass through at the same time.
Electric cars are so designed these days that they are as fast and efficient as cars that runs on fossil fuel.
I have a Corvette, I go from 0-100 MPH is seven (7) seconds, top speed of 220 miles per hour; that uses gasoline. There are also Corvette which are fully electric which top speed is 205 MPH, not much different to the one I have.
Electric cars are the future; all of those fast high profile cars I have will soon be history.
Cont:
Another thing, is the hype about Solar Panel, and cost!
Solar Panels is a very good source of generating electricity, the only setback it does not produce any electricity at night, when the sun set, you revert to the regular power grid.
I have Solar Panel on one of my residence, it is a 3,000 plus square feet house, it contains five bedrooms, in addition to living space which includes a den, and loft! I do from the first time I got it to now in only paid $6.00 in electric bills. I don’t pay any electric bills, but I pay $98.25 cents per month for leasing the panels.
The reason I lease them, is in the event they become damaged or defective, the company who holds the lease are obligated to repair them at their expense, but if decide to buy out of the lease it will cost me less than twenty-five ($25,000.00) thousand dollars.
It is worth getting Solar Panels, if one can afford it; and leave Roosevelt company DOMLEC to feel the effect.
There is a God in heaven that sees and knows everything about human being. See the kind of monies rich people spend on materials things and so many brothers and sister’s suffering in the country and in the world.
Well, yes all of that is true about cost of maintenance. But when the battery goes out that where the real cost is. As an Audi technician in the USA, I would not recommend an EV. For a regular working person in Dominica. It will be too costly for them because the cost of a regular 12v. Battery in DA. cost over $200.00 and the EV. Battery in never in stock and you can’t buy a use one.
The electricity used to power those vehicles is still produced by fossil fuels. The batteries and components used to produce these vehicles requires the mining of rare earth minerals a process that is destructive to the environment. Not to mention the e-waste that is generated when these components have outlived their usefulness.
And what a great idea to add transport and mobility to the electrical grid. Next all stove and oven will be electrical as well. So when you behave bad daddy government can easily shut you off from the grid then you can’t go anywhere or even eat. And if you think that is far-fetched just remember not less than a year ago the government was mulling over making access to supermarkets etc be based on whether or not you took a shot or not
@hmm – Excellent analysis. Well done. Based on your analysis, I deduce that you are paying close attention to what is going on.
It is absolute hypocrisy & ludicrous for anyone to think that electric vehicles will actually benefit the environment. You have well described some reasons in your first paragraph why electric vehicles are bad for the environment.
These so-called environment & climate change agendas are merely well-orchestrated Trojan Horses being used to usher in a more sinister agenda in this world.
Stay tuned…
Love it! We’d absolutely love to make the switch, for us it’s mainly duty cost and maintenance fears standing in the way. But our next vehicle purchase should be electric!
I love your article. Very informative.
As a returning Dominican/Canadian I am strongly considering an EV. However, as you have noted..they are not cheap. I too think that the government needs to remove the VAT and the Excise Tax..nb at least the VAT for starters. My government, I hope you are listening…lol. For Dominica to be truly a “Nature Island” with the sustainable resilience and renewable energy we are aiming for, EV should be a integral part of that equation.
Hon. PM Skerrit, you have removed the standard duties on EV and that was a smart move but it is still very expensive to import an EV. I strongly urge you to consider removal of the VAT at least.
You benefitting from the sale of our passport so you can afford to ride any damn thing. Such is not the case with over 99% of us who can’t even pay our water bill. So now we are asking damn questions about our monies that disappeared and all of a sudden, to distract us you talking about your car and your love for it. Gason Gregor Nassief according to PM Roosevelt Skerrit, “ Go to hell, go to hell, go to hell “.Your car you love is “not our damn business “ . No doubt is mock you mocking the rest of us whether we laborites, freedomites or UWPites