Three electric vehicles good to go

Sonny Rhian probably would have been a happy man this week.  

The Mississippi native and part-time Little Cayman resident was, at one time, the owner of the Cayman Islands’ only 100 per cent electric powered car.  

Were he still alive, Mr. Rhian would have been able to register and drive his vehicle in Little Cayman as of tomorrow.  

The business owner now responsible for bringing in several 100 per cent electric-powered cars into the Cayman Islands during the past several years, and whose customers will register three of the vehicles for use on Grand Cayman’s roads Friday, describes Mr. Rhian as something of a personal hero, even though the two never met.  

Cayman Automotive Chief Executive Officer John Felder has been leading the charge to legalise electric vehicles in the Cayman Islands going on seven years. 

On Friday, at least three fully electric-powered vehicles will be transferred to their owners after being inspected at the Department of Vehicle and Drivers Licensing. Those vehicles include a “Think City” electric car sold to local businessman Joey Hew, a “Wheego Electric” car sold to former Chamber of Commerce President Jim O’Neill and a “Zero” electric motorcycle sold to Shaun Whittaker. 

But the electric car journey is, in reality, just beginning.  

Mr. Felder said plans were in the works for a network of 14 electric car charging stations with the first four going in at Camana Bay, the Cayman Motor Museum in West Bay, Governors Square and at Kaibo in North Side. The grand plan is for all of those stations to be solar-powered, with the first solar panelled station going in at Governors Square in Grand Cayman. Planning permission is still required for most of the charging stations.  

If the solar panels are eventually installed at all the charging stations, Mr. Felder said Cayman would become the first jurisdiction in the world to have such facilities nationwide.  

Also, the Cayman Automotive CEO said the first electric cars in the Caribbean to be available for tourist rentals would be announced in Cayman Brac on Friday.  

For the near future, those electric vehicle rentals will only be available on the Brac. However, Mr. Felder hopes Grand Cayman will soon be able to offer the service.  

“It’s important for all the Caribbean,” Mr. Felder said. “This will become the model; there is no one else in the Caribbean doing what you see here today.”  

Duty reduction  

Cayman Islands Premier McKeeva Bush said Tuesday he would authorise a 10 per cent import duty reduction for electric cars and motorcycles.  

Mr. Bush said he would ask Cabinet members for a further reduction in import duties for the vehicles, but couldn’t promise anything further immediately. The initial duty reduction means a 32 per cent levy charged on the import of an electric vehicle would drop to 22 per cent.  

“We do lose some revenue … but while that happens we gain an improvement to our environment,” Mr. Bush said during a Tuesday press conference.  

“The future is here and the Cayman Islands are a part of it,” Mr. Bush said.