Smart Energy Ltd is making transportation history in T&T with the introduction of electric cars to the local market. The firm is bringing cars like the much lauded Tesla and other electric-powered vehicles here as part of their push to promote green, sustainable transportation.
The public will have a chance to see the impressive look and features of the Tesla Model S on June 18, when it will be on display during an all-day viewing demo at MovieTowne, Invader's Bay, from 10 am to 10 pm.
Smart Energy CEO Ian Smart envisions electric cars as a history-making solution to the nation's traffic problems.
"We are looking to promote a paradigm shift in how our transportation system works," says Smart.
"We believe electric vehicles are the basis for making this shift. Currently, we are living in a transportation dystopia. We have high levels of pollution due to gas combustion engines, frequent traffic and high road fatalities."
Smart says electric cars have advantages, "Electric technology allows for the possibility of carbon-free emissions–no more pollution. Also, technology is changing. The gas combustion engine has plateaued. Electric cars are now on the ascent. They are going to outstrip gas-powered engines in terms of range–how far the car can go between battery charges, versus filling up. Also, autopilot features are developing.
"Eventually we will reach where cars are completely driving themselves. This will increase safety with a reduction in accidents. Car engines themselves cause many fatalities. No engine means less danger. You're not driving around with a highly combustible fuel in your vehicle. It's not going to blow up."
Smart says the success of Uber, a mobile app transportation service, shows how computers can distribute traffic in a very efficient way.
Smart feels convinced the technology is the way of the future: "In the next five years we will begin to see the prevalence of electric cars, once manufacturers reach economies of scale."
He says of the Tesla, which cleared the port in Port-of-Spain on June 10, "This is the first purely electric vehicle in T&T, also the first Tesla in the Caribbean. This car broke the mould of the original electric cars which were slow, with a short range per charge, and look more like a golf cart than a luxury vehicle. This is the exact opposite. It's sleek, it's luxurious, with a lot of features, like autopilot. We are facilitating the purchase of the cars, but we are not an auto dealership. We are like electric car evangelists."
Smart Energy is also in the process of developing a new Web app to be launched soon.
Already, they say response has been fantastic. "We posted on Facebook that the car was in Trinidad and we got 12,000 views in a single day. It's gone viral."
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