Cheap EVs are finally arriving on Latin American shores: Costa Rica’s Geometry E is triggering large price reductions.
I’ve been saying for months now that EV prices in Latin America are unsustainably high, and that they ought to come down sooner rather than later.
We’ve already seen what can happen once a manufacturer presents a lower price in Brazil, where, despite significant tariffs, the BYD Dolphin arrived at $31,000 just a couple months ago and pushed other brands to lower their prices or lose to a more competitive alternative. However, despite price reductions, tariffs still make EVs far more expensive in Brazil than they should be.
This is not the case with Costa Rica, a country that has zero tariffs and very low taxes for EVs. Now, as we saw before, this does not mean EVs are cheap: they still remain quite expensive. But it does mean that once a player decides to go all-in, things can change pretty fast.
Enter the Geometry E.
Geely’s Geometry E
This vehicle arrived in Costa Rica in late July. We’re talking about a 4-meter-long crossover with a 39 kWh battery; neither EPA nor WLTP range estimates are presented, though, and the 380 km NEDC seems quite optimistic. Like most cheap EVs, this vehicle only supports 50 kW fast-charging and has a relatively low-powered 60 kW motor … but it will still reliably take you from point A to point B. Not everyone needs a sports car.
However, the truly important thing here is cost: the Geometry E arrives in Costa Rica at a price tag of only $22,900, which is quite close to equivalent ICE vehicles. Two months ago, this was the price of the cheapest EVs in Costa Rica, but these vehicles did not offer as much value — EVs at this price needed to offer more value or else be relegated to the dustbin of car history.
Moreover, Geely went ahead and reduced prices in more vehicles of its lineup, so further price reductions are expected in more segments of the market. For now, some vehicles that have reduced pricing are the following:
*JAC e-JS1 is offered at $17,990 on the official page, but it’s a temporary discount.
Thanks to the arrival of the Geometry E, overall EV pricing seems to have been reduced around 10–15% in Costa Rica. Even if some brands have not reduced pricing yet, I would expect them to either do so in the months to come or rapidly lose market share to those who have.
Costa Rica is closing in on price parity with the ICE vehicle market. Take this sudden price reduction, rinse and repeat a couple times, and we’re already there. Once that happens, I wonder how long the country will take to arrive at 90% market share.
You guys know how these things go. Change is slow — until suddenly, it isn’t.
Featured image: A Geely Geometry E photographed in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, China, by User3204 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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