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A Uruguayan company teaches people how to turn regular cars into EVs

Organización Autolibre is teaching individuals and companies across 14 countries to retrofit vehicles. Critics worry about the process’s safety.

“This news coverage in many media outlets across Latin America gave a lot of visibility to this technology, and to this day we tour the region every year across Peru, Mexico, Argentina,” Gabriel González Barrios, founder and CEO of Organización Autolibre, told Rest of World. The retrofitting process requires skilled EV technicians to remove the engine, gas tank, exhaust, and other components within a regular car, and fit the electric motor, batteries, on-board charger, and computer into the empty space. García, from the car shop in Bogotá, said he is working with fellow retrofitting experts and enthusiasts to lobby for specific regulation, including meeting with the Colombian transport department and SENA, the country’s professional and technical training service.

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