Costa Ricans buy more electric vehicles per person than almost any other country in the Western Hemisphere, which wouldn’t have surprised anyone when they stopped by the Croc Skywalk recently, a tourist attraction above a slow-moving river where people can gaze at sunning crocodiles.
Many electric vehicles, most of them made by Chinese companies such as Geely and BYD, were parked outside a gift shop and restaurant near the sky, about an hour and a half south of the capital San José.
Several cars were plugged into a row of shiny chargers while their owners checked on a lone crocodile lounging in the 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 auto markets. There are signs that the war in Iran, which has sent gasoline and diesel prices soaring, is accelerating this trend.
Sales of electric vehicles in Latin America, Africa and much of Asia — a grouping that includes billions of people but analysts often refer to as “the rest of the world” — rose 79 percent in March from a year earlier, according to research firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. For the entire year 2025, sales of electric cars in these countries increased by 48 percent.
Overall, electric vehicles accounted for 18 percent of all new car sales in Costa Rica in the first three months of the year, second only to Uruguay in Latin America. That’s three times the number in the United States, where Tesla started the modern electric car revolution with its Model S about 14 years ago.
Governments in Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Uruguay and many other countries are promoting electric vehicles as a way to become less dependent on imported oil, which drains their economies and scarce foreign exchange reserves. Costa Rica is not an oil producer and produces almost all of its electricity from hydropower.
“It gives Costa Rica energy sovereignty,” said Kattia Cambronero, a member of the Costa Rican legislature, who in April pushed through a bill to speed up the construction of charging stations.
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves, a right-wing populist, is also expected to sign the bill, although he and Ms Cambronero are bitter political enemies. No Costa Rican politician wants to alienate electric vehicle 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 quickly took over a market previously dominated by Japanese, American and European brands. Models of Western car companies, including Tesla, are practically invisible.
According to Asomove, the Costa Rican association for electric vehicles, at least three Chinese electric models sell for less than $20,000. Electric vehicles are increasingly available in countries like Costa Rica, which is rich by Central American standards but has a per capita income of only about a quarter of that of the United States.
When Asomove surveyed its members, “70 percent said they switched to EVs for savings, not the environment, not health — to save money,” said Silvia Rojas, the organization’s executive director.
In some ways, Costa Rica is a good fit for electric vehicles. Most people have short commutes and some cars can go from San José in the middle of the country to the Pacific coast and back without needing to recharge.
Costa Rica began promoting 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 policy, said Ms. Rojas, who helped pass the law as a legislative adviser. Ecotourism is a major industry.
Now, with high oil prices, the policy looks smart. However, Costa Rica and other poorer countries remain vulnerable. Most heavy goods vehicles run on diesel, and cars with internal combustion engines still make up the majority of new vehicle sales.
“It helps,” Sergio Capón, president of the Costa Rica Chamber of Industry, said of the popularity of electric vehicles. “However, we are very concerned about the ability of our electrical matrix to support this growth.”
Dry weather a few years ago damaged hydropower generation and almost led to power rationing. Mr. Capón said more needs to be done to harness Costa Rica’s abundant sunlight for solar power.
Marco Acuña, CEO of Grupo ICE, Costa Rica’s largest energy company, noted that electric vehicles typically charge at night, when rates are lower, and that the company is investing in new energy generation, including solar power. “We don’t see any problems in providing electricity for electric vehicles,” he said.
Electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular, although owning them takes courage.
The two most powerful chargers were not used on the Croc Skywalk, probably because they had the wrong plugs for Chinese cars.
Inside the gift shop, a salesman stopped to ring up sodas, souvenir key chains and straw hats in search of an adapter that would allow the Chinese BYD driver to use the low-power charger. But another customer has already borrowed it.
Outside, Aramis Pérez Mora, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Costa Rica, was trying to connect his Toyota to the batteries. The charger plug fit but the car software was not compatible.
Mr. Pérez, who has done research on the shortcomings of Costa Rica’s electric vehicle infrastructure, was pleased to see several chargers on the busy route that connects San José to the Pacific coast. But he wondered why the plugs were intended for European models, which very few Costa Ricans buy.
“Good idea, bad execution,” he said.
Sales of electric vehicles began to rise 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.
Thanks to this, Costa Ricans can choose from a dizzying array of Chinese brands.
Recently, at an upscale mall in San José, people milled around displays of Chinese brands like Avatr, Chery and Dongfeng. Cars were brought to Costa Rica by unauthorized dealers. Even the only Tesla on display was a gray market import from China.
“Here in Costa Rica, you can import whatever you want,” Ms. Rojas said as she surveyed the crime scene. She has become an electric vehicle 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, make up more than a third of Costa Rica’s auto market, according to Grupo Purdy, the country’s largest auto retailer.
“We’re experiencing probably the biggest disruption since we went from the horse to the car a hundred years ago,” said Alejandro Rubinstein, CEO of Grupo Purdy, which sells Toyotas, Lexus, Volkswagens, Fords and XPeng, the Chinese electric car brand.
Mr. Rubinstein said he was impressed by XPeng’s corporate metabolism.
“Every year they bring a new model, a new car,” he said in his office above the Lexus dealership. “It’s not the usual thing you see with other brands.”
The result is a brutally competitive market in which prices are falling rapidly.
Manuel Burgos Saenz, CEO of Electric Vehicle Experience, a San José dealership that sells only Chinese brands, recently hinted at the Aion Y Plus, a $19,000 hatchback made by Guangzhou Automobile Group.
“I need to sell it as quickly as possible because if I don’t sell it I’m going to lose money,” Mr Burgos said.
Business is brisk, he said. The dealership takes over an adjacent space to display and service its products, which include a $60,000 luxury sport utility vehicle and a $200,000 orange roadster that can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in two seconds.
Costa Rican businesses are also accepting electric vehicles.
Auto Mercado, the grocery chain, has cut online delivery costs by 5 to 10 percent by switching to electric delivery, 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 San Jose stores. Vans from BYD and Maxus, a division of Chinese automaker SAIC, were charging in the garage below.
The private bus company Biusa is replacing its entire fleet of 60 buses with battery models from the Chinese brand King Long.
Electric models cost $50,000 more than King Long’s diesel buses, but the company can quickly make up the difference by spending less on fuel and maintenance, said Miguel Zamora, Biusa’s chief 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 as passengers like the quiet ride and superior air conditioning.
The buses, Mr. Zamora said, “literally pay for themselves.”
David Bolaños contributed reporting from San José, Costa Rica.
