Juan Felipe Bedoya

The government is pushing for sustainability. Can you comment on new fuels and electric vehicles, and whether you are looking to expand into electric vehicles?

Porsche Holding is a trading company within the Volkswagen Group, which has one of the largest investments in electrification. The investment is focused on more than capacity, as we have always had the capacity to produce over 10 million vehicles per year. We are also looking at software development and battery and charging facilities. We will produce batteries in Europe and already have charging networks in the US, Canada, and most of Europe. We have launched electric vehicles in Colombia as part of the global strategy. The government has been generous in its support. VAT has been reduced from 19% to 5%. There are no import duties on electric parts; however, we also note that the electric vehicle solution will take time to mature. While we are betting on electrification, we understand that there needs to be a multi-fuel transition toward electrification. The global commitment to reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 will not happen if we do not work on other fuels that have perhaps not zero, but low emissions.

How are you engaging with ESG?

When you have a company producing and selling vehicles you are a target for criticism. My objective for the end of 2023 is for us to have the right conditions in Colombia, and at least 25 percent of my time is dedicated to ESG. We have a clear goal, to be carbon neutral. We have measured our footprint and it is small in terms of the CO2 emissions of Porsche Colombia employees, and is concentrated in sea and ground transportation as we import most of our vehicles. There is no possibility of transporting vehicles by sea with zero emissions. We expect to have our fleet of 50 vehicles fully electric, or else a mix, within the next two years. We need to work more on the product we offer than on our own footprint, which is small.