All over the world, environmentally friendly electric cars are the new trend. But, not so in Belize - for any number of reasons - not least of them, no car dealer would dare sell them!
Well, going against trend, Caribbean Motors has decided to do just that - and we took a ride in the Great Wall Ora IQ. Jules Vasquez got behind the wheel for his first spin in a fully electric car:
With a top speed of 100 miles per hour, this electric car won't get left behind on the road. We took it for a test drive on the new Link Road and found that it's great for overtaking.
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"This is the best vehicle for overtaking."
Chad Dietrich, Corporate Sales Mgr. - Caribbean Motors
"Instant power right."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Wow, thats so impressive. a lot of fun to drive until the battery is dead."
"How much is the maximum speed? I am at 150km."
Chad Dietrich
"So we've hit 150km with this vehicle. 160km would be 100mph."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"I'm about 156km, so I'm doing about 90 plus miles per hour."
Chad Dietrich
"Feeling very stable, nice and smooth."
And while the performance did impress, I started out very sceptical:
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Let's see if this drives like a car or a golf cart."
Chad Dietrich
"This is pure electric. You are relying strictly on your electric motor and our battery system."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"That's wonderful. Sounds like a jet. Great acceleration."
So nice, we ended up doing it time and time again.
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Codie, hold on to the edge of your skirt."
"Awesome!"
Of course it is: No transmission shifts, no rpm buildup, and no gas, no oil, And under this hood, no moving parts! Just a very big lithium ion battery under the vehicle - but while you save on gas, your light bill will go up - to the tune of 21 dollars per full charge at current electricity rates:
Chad Dietrich
"With a 47kw battery size on this, so that brings you in and around 21 dollars in electricity to fully charge this unit. So 21 dollars is going to take you about 400km or 250 miles."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"The argument can be made we don't have infrastructure, in terms of we don't have charging bays readily available, etc,. it's something that you have to do at home basically."
Chad Dietrich
"For now. That's right. We've been working with BEL for about a year now and they are planning a nationwide charging infrastructure to be able to charge these."
And while we wouldn't hold our breath waiting on BEL - since the Prime Minister announced the utility's pioneering of electric cars a whole year ago and nothing's happened - for Caribbean Motors, the future is now:
Chad Dietrich
"We are hoping that this is the pioneer electric vehicle in Belize and what we are doing right now is we brought in these 2 models and we are showing off to guys like you and we want to take pre-orders. I think all people need to do is drive one and feel it. I even see the change in your attitude on it from the time you walked in to the time we hopped into that car."
OF course, it's a nice ride, but it ain't cheap:
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"So what's the starting point for this?"
Chad Dietrich
"This one full taxes and duty paid is going for $74,000."
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"On a cost benefit analysis, would you say that over the life of this vehicle which you hope is at least 10-15 years, that I will spend less money than I would have on a conventional fuel or diesel engine?"
Chad Dietrich
"No doubt you will save money."
And while I won't be the first in line to pay that price, my interest was piqued:
Chad Dietrich
"Its eco friendly, its fuel savings, but it's a lot of fun to drive at the same time isn't it?"
Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Love it, love it."
As you heard, the Ora IQ sells for 74 thousand dollars, while the slightly less impressive Ora R1 sells for about twenty thousand dollars less. The company hopes that if duty exemptions are granted for these environmentally friendly vehicles, they price can go down by as much as twenty thousand dollars.
