Global Commercial Drive To Zero Program — Drive to Zero Newsletter

Today we profile two rising regional stars—Southeast Asia and South America—that are gaining serious momentum in the drive to zero. The world is taking notice.

I recently visited Seoul for the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) senior officials meeting. Hosted by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the gathering was the first in-person event for 2025 that brings together CEM’s top energy officials.

I saw firsthand Hyundai’s hydrogen buses and BYD’s electric buses on the streets of Seoul. South Korea is rapidly scaling its zero-emission transportation ambitions—not only deploying clean buses in major cities, but also committing to convert 100% of public transit buses to zero-emission by 2030. The government is investing heavily in hydrogen and electric charging infrastructure, with national roadmaps targeting over 500 hydrogen refueling stations and tens of thousands of EV chargers by the end of the decade. These policies are supported by strong industrial strategy, positioning Korea as a key player in the region for the global transition to zero-emission commercial vehicles.

Zero-emission buses service passengers in Seoul, April 2025.

Around the globe in South America, Peru just became the 40th signatory to the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles (Global MOU), with the Minister of Transport and Communications, Raúl Pérez Reyes, and the Dutch ambassador to Peru, Alexander Kofman headlining the official signing ceremony!

Peru signs the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles.

Peru joins signatories working collaboratively to reach 100% new zero-emission truck and bus sales by the year 2040. Peru’s leadership in this area can be seen with:

The January 2025 purchase of 50 electric and hybrid buses representing 11% of the country’s bus sales for that month
The country’s plan to add another 150 electric and hybrid buses by early 2026
It’s new scrappage program that will help customers adopt electric vehicles while at the same time removing from the fleet the oldest, most polluting vehicles on their roads

We see great opportunity and leadership in both Southeast Asia and South America. Drive to Zero looks forward to working in these critical regions — and hopefully welcoming more signatories from both parts of the world to our Global MOU community.

🇵🇪 ¡La comunidad del Global MOU celebra y da la bienvenida a Perú!

-Stephanie Kodish, Global Director, Drive to Zero

Special Features

Chile’s Capital City Leads in Bus Fleet Electrification

We have exciting news to share from Chile, a Global MOU signatory.

On Earth Week, Santiago – the capital of Chile – cemented itself as a global leader in the drive to zero. At a major national event and with the support of Centro de Movilidad Sostenible, Chilean Minister of Transport and Telecommunications Juan Carlos Muñoz joined Santiago Public Transport authorities to announce that nearly 70% of the city’s 6,500 buses will be zero-emission by the end of the year. Once this goal is achieved, Santiago will have one of the largest clean bus fleets in the world. Santiago is the fifth largest city in South America, with a population of 6.5 million people.

Earth Day

In case you missed it and in honor of Earth Day, Drive to Zero is highlighting some of the achievements of our Global MOU signatories and endorsers so far this year. Together, we’re doing a lot of good for the planet, from putting more ZE-MHDVs on the road to decarbonizing major freight corridors. Join us in taking a moment to reflect on our collective progress!

So far in 2025, Global MOU community wins include:

New Tool Alert!

To help users and policymakers find the off-road zero-emission vehicles they want now—like forklifts, terminal tractors, cargo-handling equipment, and more—CALSTART is launching the newly updated and re-envisioned Off-Road Zero-Emission Technology Inventory tool (OZETI). This interactive online tool, which now features construction equipment, provides equipment users, industry stakeholders, and policymakers with specification data and enables them to compare and contrast the features of three vehicles at a time.

Manufacturers, want to see your off-road zero-emission technology featured?Submit your information here. And, while you browse OZETI, don’t forget to check out the Zero-Emission Technology Inventory Suite to see the zero-emission trucks and buses on the market today.

Submit for a Feature

Growing Zero-Emission Corridors in Africa

💻 Webinar

🗓️ May 12 | 8:30 am EDT/12:30 pm UTC/2:30 pm CEST

The Global Green Road Corridors (GGRC) initiative is transforming the future of freight and transport by decarbonizing the key corridors that move people and the world’s goods from ports to hubs to cities around the globe each day.

Join the Northern Corridor in Africa action accelerator event May 12 at 8:30 am EDT/12:30 pm UTC/2:30 pm CEST. This critical corridor connects the Port of Mombasa in Kenya to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. It plays a key role in facilitating regional trade.

Join the initiative to advance corridors powering zero-emission trucks, growing green jobs, supporting cleaner air, and helping sustain local economies that rely on freight and transport.

Exchange for More Battery Electric Trucks

💻 Webinar

🗓️ June 3 | 9 AM PT/12PM ET

Join us to learn about the policies and organizations enabling battery-electric truck deployments in Sweden. What can the U.S. and other countries learn from their success? This informational exchange of success stories and strategies aims to spark solutions to increase adoption of battery-electric trucks on a global scale. Hear from our partners at Lindholmen Science Park and Volvo Group.

Latin America’s Clean Transportation Future

📍 Event

🗓️ May 7-8

On May 7-8, key industry leaders will convene at Latam Mobility & Net-Zero Brasil 2025 to prepare and plan for the region’s transition to clean transportation, including ZE-MHDvs. They will discuss topics including:

Public policies: tax incentives, regulation and safety
Energy transition in transportation: electrification and new fuels
Infrastructure and innovation: interoperability and smart cities

Drive to Zero is proud to join Brasil Mobility as a Strategic Partner for the event.

Learn More