They are everywhere. The only limit to adoption is that many people live in buildings where chargers can't easily be installed.

The limit to adoption is non existent or slow public charging infrastructure.

Both limit adoption. Public charging infrastructure would solve the problem of nit being able to charge at home.

You have to consider that South America is the most dangerous continent.

You can't just leave your car charging unattended in a public space. It has to be done at home or somewhere closed (which would make it expensive) or you would have to watch over your car (which would take a lot of your time).

How do parking lots even work in South America then?

At supermarkets and malls they usually have guards.

Lots where people park overnight are gated.

There you go then.

Not having public charging means you can't travel more than << 50% range away from home.

I'm surprised Mercedes was ever price competitive for taxis even in Germany, I mean the average VW would do the job just as well at half the cost.

These days they're both priced like they're selling Ferraris anyway so yeah. The ID Buzz starting at 70k EUR is such a joke.

Mercedes and BMW serves a wider band of value than they do in the USA, where they have purposefully cultivated themselves as a pure luxury brand. For example, the 1 and 2 series from BMW or Mercedes A class will never go the USA, even though I’m sure there is a market for them.

They used to make them with quality construction. Now it's all engineered with plastic bits that will only last for the first 5 years the rich owner will be using it before tossing it out.

I remember all taxis in Portugal being beige Mercedes in the 80s,when Portugal wasn't well off. I guess their durability is what made them worthwhile.

I can't wait for BYD to enter the European market with a true minibus like VW's ID Buzz. There is a rumor that the M9 is coming in 2026.

Mercedes taxis in Europe are not appointed like the cars they sell in North America. They are just normal cars there.

I remember being in a Mercedes in France in the 80's and noticing it had manual crank windows. My dad in the US (even then!) hated added electronics in cars so he went to a Mercedes dealer and they explained that in the US we could only get fully loaded models.