Cali Loses Pioneer, But Not His Dream of Colombia’s Electric Car Industry

Photo: Students of the Universidad del Valle Automotive Project. Credit: Edgar Bejarano / Univalle

Diego Mejia Castro, the main driving force behind a project to make a home-grown electric car industry in Cali, Colombia died of COVID-19 last year, but his dream lives on: the prototype vehicle is expected to go into testing before the end of 2021. 

Mejia Castro, an entrepreneur who died at the age of 59 in August 2020, brought his decades of automotive industry expertise and attracted the initial grant funding, according to Jorge Lopera, scientific director of the Universidad del Valle Automotive Project. 

Homegrown Electric Vehicle 

It was also Mejia Castro who led the efforts that led to a $1 million USD (4 million Colombian Pesos) grant from the national oil royalty system via the Valle Del Cauca regional government. 

“In 2016, technology consultancy Octopus Force came on board with Seer Holdings and Diego,” Lopera said, adding that the “on-paper” part of the plan looked at all aspects of increasing regional capacities for the electric vehicle industry including advanced manufacturing, autonomous vehicle technology and car-sharing schemes — all in order to increase regional capacities for the electric vehicle industry. 

Since then, Seer Holdings (led by the children of Mejía Castro), Octopus Force and the students, and the faculty of the Universidad del Valle Faculty of Engineering have teamed up to bring the prototype vehicle to fruition. 

Consumer spending on electric car purchases increased to $120 billion USD in 2020, according to an International Energy Agency report. 

 Thanks to this growth, Lopera considers a small but scalable production (1000 vehicles per year) feasible in the Colombian market. 

“80 years ago, to have an automotive industry, you needed a foundry to produce the engine blocks,” Lopera said.

"Thanks to new manufacturing processes such as additive manufacturing, 3D scanning and composites, we can build on a smaller scale," he said. "With software simulation methods and tools, it is no longer necessary to travel to another country to access its wind tunnel because much of the initial testing can be done by computer alone." 

The prototype is being built using components imported from China and the United States but with the design and interiors are adapted to Colombian conditions. This prototype manufacturing is led by Seer Holdings, thanks to their experience in electric vehicles, along with Octopus Force and the Universidad del Valle.

 

Photo: Jorge Lopera, scientific director of the Automotive Project. Credit: Edgar Bejarano / Univalle

Salsa Capital to Electric Vehicle Leader

Cali, Colombia is known as one of the world's salsa dancing capitals, but with its close access to the port of Buenaventura on Colombia's Pacific coast, Lopera says it can and should leverage this position to be a leader in electric vehicles. 

“The pandemic has brought to light the world’s new logistical challenges,” he said, “What happens if we can't move things between countries anymore?”

Lopera says that while many parts of the Colombian electric vehicle will come from China, the Univalle’s access to a 1 cubic-metre-sized 3D printer will allow for many of the non-chassis pieces to be manufactured and assembled in Colombia. 

Colombia’s National Electric Mobility Strategy aims to have 600,000 electric vehicles (including two-wheeled types) in use by 2030. 

Lopera says he sees London-based commercial EV company Arrival as one of the models for the industrial development of electric vehicles in the Valle del Cauca region. 

“They use their high-end knowledge,” he said, "but their raw materials must travel to the UK, while the Port of Buenaventura, near Cali, is directly connected to the Pacific, this has always been a strength of ours.” 

This project capitalizes on and strengthens existing academic, scientific/technological and commercial initiatives being worked on between the Faculty of Engineering and Buenaventura’s governmental and port authorities. 

Photo: Part of the prototype of the electric car. Credit: Edgar Bejarano / Univalle

Post-Pandemic, Real Tests Begin 

The testing phase is expected to start in December this year and the Universidad del Valle’s facilities have the necessary elements to carry out standardized tests on vehicles. 

Lopera believes that determining the vehicle's center of gravity, cornering performance and stopping distance is crucial. 

They will also test the autonomy and comfort of the vehicle, which are of great interest to consumers. However, one of the challenges ahead is the lack of infrastructure for electric vehicles. 

"The vehicle has its own 220 Volt charging port, but most people in Colombia do not have a solid and reliable infrastructure to charge their vehicle," said Lopera. "This project is an opportunity to offer a vehicle that adapts to all conditions in the country." 

Lopera said that with the cooperators of the Octopus Force project, Seer Holdings and Universidad del Valle, a sum of capacities and experiences has been created that offers an opportunity for the development of new industries in Colombia.