The vehicles will go into commission on the streets of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in January 2014, making daily journeys and final-kilometer deliveries. 

Earlier this month, Frost & Sullivan released research showing that Brazil’s EV market is expected to grow 21-fold over the next four years from 125 EVs in operation in 2012, chiefly for R&D and marketing, to an expected 5,700 imported units by 2017, driven by import tax reliefs.

The research said that the scope for the EV market will greatly widen as energy concessionaries in the country move ahead with research and development (R&D) for EV supporting infrastructure and open up to partnerships. It added that the Brazilian EV market will also expand rapidly once automotive companies overcome challenges, such as high initial costs, by deploying new business models and leveraging the anticipated import tax relief.

This year has also seen the Renault-Nissan Alliance join a Brazilian EV partnership aimed at studying the possibility of manufacturing electric vehicles in the country, as well as developing the supporting charging infrastructure.

Renault already markets its full-electric range in Brazil, notably through the CPFL Energia’s Electric Mobility Program and the commercialization of 42 Renault electric models.