Meet Zacua, Mexico’s first electric car brand

In recent years, Latin America has seen moderate growth in its electric vehicle market, with over 10,700 EVs estimated to be on the roads in 2020. Many countries in the region have introduced incentives for electric vehicles, such as exemptions or discounts on sales, environmental and import taxes. And beyond Mexico, manufacturers in Bolivia, Brazil and Argentina have also begun to develop their own domestically built electric vehicles. However, the high price of electric cars is still a barrier for the majority of Latin American consumers – and for their local producers, many of whom have so far seen more losses than profit.

Nevertheless, Zacua has found a positive reception. Earlier this year, the country’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrard, arrived in a Zacua for the launch of a Mexico-United States Electric Vehicle Working Group in California, in a clear show of support for the Mexican brand. As interest in the company’s work builds, Diálogo Chino spoke with Nazareth Black, Zacua’s CEO, to hear more about its origins and projections.

Diálogo Chino: What is Zacua for you?
Nazareth Black: More than a brand, Zacua is a state of mind: all of us need to travel, but when you get into a Zacua, you get into a very positive state of mind, saying “I am travelling and I am no longer polluting”. The aim is to reduce the impact on the earth and leave a better world for those who come. But we as a species are killing ourselves with the cars we choose to use: we are choosing the weapon that is killing us.

All these actions that we can take, we are taking to increase our chances of survival and of those to come, to be able to survive in an environment of the highest possible quality. Zacua is also the name of a bird – it was the favourite of Emperor Moctezuma, who is important to Mexico’s history. As a Mexican project, we seek to promote our country to the world, and this gives us the opportunity to start conversations about our history.

DC: What was the process of developing the technology like?
NB: The car’s electronics were developed in-house, at the plant with our engineers. So we have technological independence – that is, we own that technology. And that strikes me as an extraordinary achievement. It is our first attempt, being a small and emerging company.

Within the community, within an international industry experiencing [a shift to] Industry 4.0, we are a star, and many countries have come to learn about the project. We have that recognition. They ask us: “How did they do it?” Obviously we know that we have to improve on so many things, but our whole life is [dedicated to] constantly improving. In the internal team we have mechanics, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers. Even me, we all ended up teaming up to pull this off.