You're holding something precious, and you have to protect it
In a Havana factory where electric vehicles roll off assembly lines at ten times the pace of four years ago, Cuba is quietly assembling something beyond transportation: a wager that technological partnership and renewable energy can carve a path through scarcity. VEDCA, born of a Cuban-Chinese joint venture in the shadow of the pandemic, has grown into a symbol of what state enterprise might become when necessity meets intention. The president's visit was less an inspection than a benediction — a reminder that in difficult times, the places that keep building carry a particular kind of weight.
- Cuba's chronic fuel scarcity has made electric vehicles not a luxury but a lifeline, driving demand that the factory still cannot fully meet.
- VEDCA's leap from 1,000 to 10,000 units in three years signals an industrial momentum rare in an economy long constrained by sanctions and hard-currency shortages.
- The planned shift to domestic metal frame production and robotic manufacturing represents a deliberate move away from dependency — building more of the supply chain inside the island.
- Solar panels on the factory roof and on every outgoing tricycle reframe each vehicle as a node in a decentralized energy network, not merely a mode of transport.
- President Díaz-Canel's visit carried a dual message: recognition of real achievement and a direct call to workers to bypass bureaucracy if it stands in the way of progress.
On a Friday afternoon in Havana's Boyeros municipality, Cuba's president walked the assembly floor of VEDCA — Vehículos Eléctricos del Caribe — and told its director that what he held was precious and worth protecting. The factory, a joint venture between Cuba's state-owned Minerva company and China's Tianjin Dongxing, began operations in 2021 with just over 1,000 units produced. By 2024, that figure had reached 10,000. Last year, the operation brought in more than 12 million dollars in revenue — hard currency in an economy that desperately needs it.
The factory's 96 workers assemble three product lines: electric bicycles, motorcycles, and tricycles. Demand outpaces supply. Families and businesses turn to these vehicles because fuel is scarce and expensive, and the factory sells through both international payment platforms and a growing network of Cuban retail chains. Director Julio Oscar Pérez Pérez oversees the operation, with plans to add currency bonuses to workers' already above-average salaries.
Expansion is the next chapter. VEDCA will soon introduce electric cars capable of 200 to 250 kilometers on a single charge, and will begin producing metal frames and structural components domestically — reducing imports, cutting costs, and creating jobs. Laser-cutting machines and robotic welding systems are on the way. Energy independence is already underway: the administrative building runs on solar panels, and by late summer the entire facility will leave the national electrical grid behind, powered entirely by photovoltaic systems. Every tricycle leaving the factory will now carry solar panels, making each one a small generator in its own right.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel framed the factory as more than a manufacturer — a living model of Cuban-Chinese partnership and a pillar of the island's energy transition strategy. China's ambassador, marking two years in his post, reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to supporting Cuba's resilience against sanctions. The president promised to return before year's end, and left workers with an open invitation: if bureaucracy blocks the way, tell him directly. In difficult times, he said, places like this are more than encouraging — they are proof that another path forward exists.
On a Friday afternoon in Havana's Boyeros municipality, Cuba's president walked through the assembly floor of an electric vehicle factory and told its director something that sounded like both compliment and warning: you're holding something precious, and you have to protect it.
The factory is VEDCA—Vehículos Eléctricos del Caribe, or Caribbean Electric Vehicles—a joint venture between Cuba's state-owned Minerva company and China's Tianjin Dongxing. It began operations in 2021, practically as the world was emerging from COVID, and has grown with remarkable speed. In that first year, the factory produced just over 1,000 units. By 2024, it was building 10,000. Last year brought in more than 12 million dollars in revenue, a figure that matters in an economy starved for hard currency.
The factory now assembles three main product lines: electric bicycles, motorcycles, and tricycles. Workers move through the production floor past signs reading "Quality is first" and "Quality is the life of the company." Julio Oscar Pérez Pérez, the director, oversees 96 employees earning an average of 16,500 pesos monthly, with plans to add currency bonuses soon. The demand, he said, is so high the factory cannot yet meet it. Families and businesses buy these vehicles because fuel is scarce and expensive. The factory sells through international payment platforms and increasingly through Cuban retail chains, including a network of mixed-ownership stores planned for Havana, Villa Clara, Santiago de Cuba, and Holguín.
But the factory is not content with assembly. Later this year, VEDCA plans to introduce electric cars with a range of 200 to 250 kilometers and speeds of 80 to 90 kilometers per hour. The company is also preparing to shift toward a mixed-ownership model that will include a new production line for metal frames and structural components—work that will happen in Cuba rather than being imported, saving money and creating more jobs. Advanced technology is coming: laser-cutting machines and robotic welding systems designed to raise quality and precision.
Energy independence is woven into the strategy. The administrative building already runs on solar panels. By August or September, the entire facility will disconnect from Cuba's national electrical grid, powered entirely by photovoltaic systems. More striking still, all tricycles leaving the factory from now on will come equipped with solar panels—a detail that transforms each vehicle into a small generator.
When President Miguel Díaz-Canel toured the factory, he framed VEDCA as something larger than a manufacturing operation. He called it a concrete expression of Cuba's deepening partnership with China, a model of what state enterprise can become when it combines innovation with purpose. He placed the factory within Cuba's strategic priorities: defense, food production, and energy transition. Within energy transition, he emphasized, electric mobility stands as a pillar.
China's ambassador to Cuba, Hua Xin, who was marking two years in his post, echoed the point. Cuba's energy transition, he said, has already proven the island's resilience against illegal sanctions. China will not waver in supporting that work. The president promised to return before year's end, and told the workers that if bureaucracy gets in the way, they should tell him directly. "It's very encouraging," he said, "to visit places like this in such difficult times." What he saw there, he suggested, was not just production but resistance—the stubborn insistence that another path forward exists.
Citações Notáveis
The demand is so high that we cannot yet satisfy it, but we are responding to part of the population's needs.— Julio Oscar Pérez Pérez, VEDCA director
This factory becomes one of the bastions of cooperation with the People's Republic of China and a concrete expression of the shared future we are building together.— President Miguel Díaz-Canel
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why does a factory making electric tricycles matter enough for the president to visit?
Because it's not really about tricycles. It's about whether Cuba can build something modern and competitive while the world is cutting it off. Every vehicle that leaves here solves a fuel problem for a family or a business. That's concrete.
The numbers seem to jump very fast—from 1,000 units to 10,000 in just a few years. Is that sustainable?
The director says demand is so high they can't keep up. Whether they can scale further depends on whether they can actually build those metal frames domestically and bring in the laser-cutting machines they're planning. That's the real test.
What's the significance of the Chinese partnership?
It's not just capital or technology. It's a statement that China is betting on Cuba's future. The ambassador said explicitly that China won't stop supporting the energy transition. That matters when you're under sanctions.
The solar panels on the products themselves—is that practical or symbolic?
Probably both. Practically, it extends range and reduces dependence on the grid. Symbolically, it says every vehicle is part of the solution, not part of the problem. That's the kind of thinking the president was asking for.
What happens if they can't meet demand?
They're already planning for it—new product lines, new ownership structures, new technology. But the real constraint isn't ambition. It's whether they can actually source materials and keep the supply chain moving under sanctions.