Twenty-two newly certified trainers, zero import taxes, and a plan to halve electricity costs by year-end. The case for buying an EV in Guyana has never been stronger.
La Caribeña News
TL;DR
Twenty-two Guyanese professionals certified in Electric Vehicle Systems and Solar PV Charging graduated on 5 June 2026 in Georgetown, bringing Guyana's pool of certified EV technicians to 77.
The ceremony was held at the Windjammer International Hotel. Participants gained certification in EV maintenance, solar photovoltaic installation and maintenance, and training delivery methodologies, supported by the United Nations Development Programme, the International Organization for Migration, the Guyana Energy Agency, and the Board of Industrial Training.
The graduation lands at a moment when the financial and practical barriers to EV ownership in Guyana are lower than they have ever been, and when the energy infrastructure needed to sustain electric transport is actively expanding.
What does it now cost to bring an EV into Guyana?
Fully electric vehicles carry no import taxes in Guyana — zero customs duty, zero excise tax, and zero VAT. The 2025 National Budget formalised the removal of both customs duty and VAT on electric vehicles and introduced a 50 per cent write-down allowance as an additional incentive for businesses choosing to invest in cleaner transport. A conventional petrol vehicle below 1,500cc still carries a 35 per cent import duty plus applicable taxes. The gap between an EV and its combustion equivalent is now among the widest in the Caribbean.
GT Automotive launched in Guyana in April 2025 as the exclusive dealer for BYD, the world's leading EV brand by sales volume, bringing five models to the local market including the Dolphin hatchback, the Yuan Plus SUV, and the Seal sedan. A buyer can walk into a local showroom, select a zero-duty vehicle, claim a 50 per cent annual write-down, and drive away in one of the most technologically advanced cars available in the region.
Will electricity be cheap enough to make the numbers work?
The Gas-to-Energy Project is projected to halve end-user electricity tariffs from approximately 24 cents per kilowatt-hour to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour. The government expects EV uptake to accelerate once lower electricity rates from the Gas-to-Energy project reach the national grid. An EV charged at 12 cents per kWh costs a fraction of the equivalent petrol journey, and the savings compound across the vehicle's lifespan.
The Guyana Energy Agency launched a grid-connected solar household programme in March 2026, allowing rooftop solar owners to sell surplus electricity back to GPL and receive credits on their utility bill. A vehicle owner with rooftop solar could run a car on sunlight, with the grid absorbing excess generation when the car sits idle. La Caribeña News has reported on Guyanese families already making that transition, including Eccles-based Electronic Wizard Solar Tech, whose work installing residential solar systems speaks to this growing intersection of clean power and daily transport.
Read that report: Before Gas-to-Energy Arrives, a Guyanese Family Is Already Helping Homes and MSMEs Beat the Blackouts
What energy policy sits behind the EV push?
Guyana's Low Carbon Development Strategy 2030 is the national framework governing the energy transition. It targets 75 per cent renewable energy in the national supply mix by 2030, drawing on hydropower, solar, wind, and natural gas as a transitional bridge fuel, while reducing the country's 97 per cent dependence on imported fossil fuels. The Energy Supply Matrix under LCDS 2030 incorporates hydropower, solar, natural gas, wind, and biomass — a deliberate all-of-the-above architecture designed to balance supply security with decarbonisation targets.
For the EV sector, this policy framework matters because it determines the fuel source behind every charge point. A car charged today on natural gas power runs cleaner than a petrol equivalent. The same car charged in 2030 on a predominantly hydropower and solar grid runs cleaner still. Guyana's energy transition and its EV adoption curve are not separate stories. They are the same story at different speeds.
La Caribeña News covered the investment dynamics of that energy landscape in its recent report: A Trader Made US$250 Million on Russian Oil. Now He Wants Guyana. Who Benefits?
Why does the trainer certification matter for buyers?
The practical concern raised about EV ownership in small markets is not the purchase price. It is the service network. If a battery management system faults or a charging port fails, where does the car go?
With this latest cohort, 77 auto electricians and mechanical technicians have now been trained to repair and maintain electric vehicles across Guyana. The JET initiative is also installing three solar-powered charging stations, adding to the six public charging stations already managed by the Guyana Energy Agency, with fourteen further stations expected to expand nationwide access. Certified technicians and a growing charge network together address the two most cited barriers to adoption: serviceability and range concern on longer coastal runs.
What does the skills gap look like for the sector overall?
The June 2026 cohort represents a fraction of what the sector will require at scale. Guyana faces an estimated labour shortage of between 50,000 and 100,000 workers over the next five years, a figure cited by Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud in August 2024. The Board of Industrial Training, under the Ministry of Labour, conducted 653 courses between 2020 and 2024, certifying 12,765 individuals across all 10 administrative regions. EV maintenance and solar PV installation represent newer occupational areas now entering that curriculum in earnest.
Guyana's National TVET Policy 2025–2035, developed with World Bank support, formally establishes Sector Skills Councils to align training institutions with industry demand, with low-carbon technology identified as a priority sector. The JET programme's trainer-certification model feeds directly into that framework. By certifying trainers rather than individual technicians, the initiative multiplies its reach without proportionally increasing its cost. Each of the 22 graduates from 5 June 2026 carries the capacity to train future cohorts, compounding the return on each certification.
Between 2020 and 2025, the government invested GY$1.14 billion in skills training, benefiting over 15,000 persons, and commissioned a BIT Skills Development and Certification Centre in Region Six in 2025 to extend TVET delivery beyond Georgetown. A dedicated EV and clean energy curriculum, delivered through BIT's existing regional network with the June 2026 graduates as its first instructors, represents the logical next investment.
The 22 professionals certified on 5 June 2026 did not turn Guyana into a mature EV market overnight. They added a professional layer the market had been missing: people who can keep the cars running after the purchase decision is made. Combined with zero import taxes, a 50 per cent write-down allowance, falling electricity costs, a growing charge network, and BYD models now available locally, the practical case for electric vehicle ownership in Guyana has never looked this solid.
For Caribbean buyers watching a neighbouring market build its infrastructure before deciding, the direction is now clear.