Tropical Mobility, an electric vehicle dealer majority owned by Tropical Battery Company, has landed a deal with Santo Domingo-based, Zero Emisión RD, to service Tesla electric vehicles in Jamaica.
It’s the company’s first major service deal since its incorporation in 2021.
Founded in 2016, the Zero Emisión RD is said to be the leading electric vehicle (EV) dealer and service centre in the Dominican Republic.
The company is also recognised as one of the first movers in the shift to sustainable transport solutions in the neighbouring Caribbean country.
Zero Emisión RD has sold nearly 700 EVs over the past eight years, including more than 320 Tesla models.
“As the regional leader in the adoption of electric vehicles with more than 1,000 EVs on the road, the Dominican Republic represents a shining example of what we can achieve in Jamaica,” said Tropical Mobility CEO Oliver Hill.
“We have a lot to learn from the Dominican experience, and with the support of Zero Emisión RD, we are confident we can achieve similar uptake in the months and years ahead,” added Hill, who also serves as president of the Jamaica Electric Vehicle Association (JEVA).
Under the terms of the recently signed MoU, Zero Emisión RD and Tropical Mobility will cooperate on training and technical support to facilitate the delivery of what the company says will be “world-class service to battery electric vehicle drivers in Jamaica”, including Tesla owners who struggle to find reliable service workers, resulting in their vehicles going unserviced.
“We are pleased to support the development of the electric mobility ecosystem in Jamaica as we have been doing in the Dominican Republic and other countries of the region over the past eight years,” Zero Emisión RD Founder and President Charles Sanchez said.
Sanchez is also the vice-president and new technologies training coordinator at Miami-based EV training centre CISE Electronics Corp, which has been training technicians from across Latin America since 2001; and the founder and president of the Dominican Electric Mobility Association (ASOMOEDO).
CISE will provide Tesla-specific EV training and other advanced technical EV courses to Tropical Mobility technicians under the terms of the MoU.
Both Tropical Mobility and Zero Emisión RD will work together to promote the adoption of specific electric vehicle brands and electric mobility solutions in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, and to advance the development of sustainable battery lifecycle solutions in both countries and across the wider Caribbean region.
“This partnership with Tropical Mobility is just the type of cooperation we need between Caribbean countries to build the high value, knowledge-based service industries that will drive the transition to sustainable, low carbon economic growth,” Sanchez added.
Since its incorporation, Tropical Mobility has secured a dealer’s licence and has launched into the electric vehicle market as a seller of motorcycles. The bikes are being displayed through parent company Tropical Battery’s network of eight stores.
Tropical Mobility has plans to expand into the sale of EV cars.
