Costa Ricans buy more electric vehicles per person than almost any other country in the Western Hemisphere, a fact that would not surprise anyone who recently stopped by the Croc Skywalk, a tourist attraction over a slow-moving river where people can gaze at sunbathing crocodiles.
Several electric vehicles, most of them made by Chinese companies such as Geely and BYD, were parked outside a gift shop and restaurant near the skywalk, about an hour and a half south of San José, the capital.
Several cars were plugged into a bank of shiny chargers while their owners checked out a lone crocodile in murky water.
Costa Rica is a leading example of how electric vehicles are rapidly gaining popularity in many less wealthy countries that are not part of the giant US, European and Chinese car markets. There are signs that the war in Iran, which has sharply increased the price of petrol and diesel, is accelerating this trend.
Sales of electric vehicles in Latin America, Africa and much of Asia — a group that includes billions of people but which analysts often refer to as “the rest of the world” — rose 79 percent in March compared with a year earlier, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a research firm. Throughout 2025, sales of electric cars in these countries increased by 48 percent.
Overall, electric cars accounted for 18 percent of all new car sales in Costa Rica during the first three months of the year, second only to Uruguay in Latin America. That’s three times as many as in the United States, where Tesla started the modern electric car revolution some 14 years ago with its Model S.
Governments in Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Uruguay and many other countries are promoting electric vehicles as a way to become less dependent on imported oil, a drain on their economies and precious foreign exchange reserves. Costa Rica is not an oil producer and generates almost all of its electricity from hydropower.
“It gives Costa Rica energy sovereignty,” said Kattia Cambronero, a member of Costa Rica’s legislature, which in April pushed through a law to speed up the construction of charging stations.
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves, a right-wing populist, is expected to sign the law, although he and Ms Cambronero are bitter political enemies. No Costa Rican politician wants to alienate electric car owners, a growing constituency.
Costa Rica also shows what happens when there are no barriers to cheap Chinese-made vehicles. BYD, Geely, MG and dozens of other Chinese brands have quickly taken over a market previously dominated by Japanese, American and European brands. Models from Western automakers, including Tesla, are virtually invisible.
At least three Chinese electric models sell for less than $20,000, according to Asomove, a Costa Rican electric car association. Electric vehicles are increasingly affordable in countries like Costa Rica, which is rich by Central American standards but has an income per capita of only population about a quarter of that of the United States.
When Asomove asked its members, “70 percent said they switched to an electric car because of the savings, not the environment, not the health — to save money,” said Silvia Rojas, the organization’s executive director.
In some ways, Costa Rica is well-suited for electric vehicles. Most people have short commutes, and it is possible with some cars to drive from San José in the middle of the country to the Pacific coast and back without having to charge up.
Costa Rica began encouraging electric vehicle ownership in 2018 by exempting them from taxes and fees. The goal was to help the environment in line with Costa Rica’s sustainability policies, said Ms. Rojas, who helped pass the law as a legislative aide. Ecotourism is a big industry.
Now with high oil prices the policy looks smart. But Costa Rica and other poorer countries remain vulnerable. Most heavy trucks run on diesel, and cars with internal combustion engines still account for most new car sales.
“It helps,” said Sergio Capón, president of the Costa Rican Chamber of Industries, about the popularity of electric vehicles. “But we are very concerned about the ability of our electrical matrix to support this growth.”
Dry weather damaged hydropower production several years ago and almost led to energy rationing. More needs to be done to harness Costa Rica’s abundant sunlight for solar energy, Mr. Capón said.
Marco Acuña, CEO of Grupo ICE, Costa Rica’s largest utility, noted that electric vehicles are usually charged at night, when prices are lower, and that the utility is investing in new power generation, including solar power. “We see no problem in providing electricity to electric vehicles,” he said.
Electric vehicles are growing in popularity, although it takes courage.
On the Croc Skywalk, the two most powerful chargers were not used, probably because they had the wrong plugs for Chinese cars.
Inside the gift shop, a clerk took a break from ringing up sodas, souvenir key rings and straw hats to look for an adapter that would allow the driver of a Chinese-made BYD to use a low-energy charger. But another customer had already borrowed it.
Outside, Aramis Pérez Mora, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Costa Rica, struggled to get his battery-powered Toyota to connect. The charger plug fit, but the car’s software was not compatible.
Mr. Pérez, who has researched the failings of Costa Rica’s electric vehicle infrastructure, was pleased to see more chargers along a busy route that connects San José to the Pacific coast. But he wondered why the plugs were designed for European models, which very few Costa Ricans buy.
“Good idea, bad implementation,” he said.
Sales of electric cars began to pick up in 2023, when Chinese models began to appear in large numbers. Some were sold by authorized dealers, but many were imported by Costa Ricans who bought them from dealers in China and transported them by container ships.
As a result, Costa Ricans can choose from a dizzying array of Chinese brands.
Recently, in an upscale mall in San José, people moved around displays of Chinese brands such as Avatr, Chery and Dongfeng. The cars had been brought to Costa Rica by unauthorized dealers. Even the lone Tesla on display was a gray market import from China.
“Here in Costa Rica, you can import anything you want,” Ms. Rojas said as she surveyed the scene. She has become an electric car evangelist and holds workshops in Mexico, Colombia, Brazil and Kenya.
Toyota remains the most popular brand in Costa Rica, but its share has declined. Imported Chinese cars, including hybrids and gasoline models, account for more than a third of the Costa Rican car market, according to Grupo Purdy, the country’s largest car dealer.
“We’re probably living the biggest disruption since we went from the horse to a car a hundred years ago,” said Alejandro Rubinstein, CEO of Grupo Purdy, which sells Toyotas, Lexuses, Volkswagens, Fords and XPengs, a Chinese electric car brand.
Mr. Rubinstein said he had been surprised by XPeng’s corporate metabolism.
“Every year they bring a new model, a new car,” he said in his office above a Lexus dealership. “It’s not the usual you see from other brands.”
The result is a brutally competitive market where prices fall rapidly.
Manuel Burgos Saenz, general manager of Electric Vehicle Experience, a San José dealership that sells only Chinese brands, recently pointed to an Aion Y Plus, a $19,000 hatchback made by Guangzhou Automobile Group.
“I have to sell it as soon as possible because if I don’t sell it I will lose money,” said Mr. Burgos.
Business is brisk, he said. The dealership takes over an adjacent space to display and service its products, which include a $60,000 luxury sports car and a $200,000 orange roadster that can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in a tick over two seconds.
Costa Rican companies are also adopting electric vehicles.
Auto Mercado, a grocery chain, has cut the cost of making online deliveries by 5 to 10 percent by switching to electric vans, said Felipe Alonso, Auto Mercado’s head of e-commerce.
“The customers love it, the drivers love it,” Mr. Alonso said at one of the company’s stores in San José. Vans made by BYD and Maxus, a division of Chinese automaker SAIC, loaded up in a parking garage below.
Biusa, a private bus company, is replacing its entire fleet of 60 buses with battery-powered models made by King Long, a Chinese brand.
The electric models cost $50,000 more than King Long diesel buses, but the company can quickly make up the difference by spending less on fuel and maintenance, said Miguel Zamora, a Biusa executive, as he stood near a row of chargers.
The buses easily cover their daily routes on a single charge, he said. Passenger numbers have increased because passengers like the quiet ride and superior air conditioning.
The buses, said Mr. Zamora, “literally pays for itself.”
David Bolaños contributed reporting from San José, Costa Rica.
