We can talk about electric mobility, but without the equipment we cannot achieve it
On a May afternoon in Havana, Cuban President Díaz-Canel walked the assembly lines of Vedca — a joint venture born from Chinese and Cuban hands — as a quiet declaration that the island's future runs on electric current rather than imported fuel. From a modest thousand units in its first year to ten thousand by 2025, the factory in Boyeros has become more than a production site; it is a living argument for what Cuba believes cooperation, necessity, and ingenuity can build together. In a nation navigating economic pressure and energy scarcity, Vedca stands as both a practical answer and a philosophical wager — that sovereignty, in part, is charged by the sun.
- Cuba's chronic energy crisis and economic isolation have made the search for domestic, renewable alternatives not merely aspirational but existential.
- Vedca has scaled tenfold in four years, yet demand still outpaces supply — TRD alone purchased over a thousand units this year, and the factory is racing toward a goal of twenty thousand by year's end.
- The factory is moving to sever its connection to Cuba's strained national electrical grid entirely by late 2026, with its administrative building already solar-powered and every new tricycle shipped with a panel that extends its range by a third.
- Plans to add electric cars, pickup trucks, and a domestic metal-frame manufacturing venture signal an ambition to deepen Cuban ownership of the supply chain and cut production costs by more than half.
- China's ambassador framed Vedca as a model of bilateral resilience, positioning the partnership as a direct counterweight to what both governments describe as an American energy blockade.
Miguel Díaz-Canel arrived at the Vedca factory in Havana's Boyeros municipality on a Friday in May to witness what a Cuban-Chinese partnership looks like in practice — and to declare, in the language of assembly lines and solar panels, what he believes Cuba's energy future must become.
Vedca, the International Economic Association for Caribbean Electric Vehicles, grew from a 2021 joint venture between Tianjin Dongxing Industrial Group and the Cuban firm Minerva. Its trajectory has been steep: one thousand units assembled in its first year, ten thousand by 2025, with revenues exceeding twelve million dollars and nearly two million in foreign currency returned to an island under sustained economic strain. The factory's ninety-six workers — averaging forty-six years old, earning sixteen thousand five hundred pesos monthly, and supported with food supplements — produce electric bicycles, motorcycles, and tricycles across three main lines.
Díaz-Canel placed the visit within Cuba's three strategic pillars: defense, food production, and energy transition. He was direct about the stakes. "We can talk about electric mobility all we want," he said, "but without the equipment we cannot achieve it." He urged workers and managers to think expansively — extending electric vehicles into food logistics, refrigerated medicine transport, and solar-equipped mobile recreation units for communities.
The factory's energy philosophy is as significant as its output. Its administrative building already runs on solar power, and Vedca expects to disconnect from Cuba's national grid entirely by late 2026. Every tricycle now leaves the factory fitted with a solar panel that extends its range by thirty to forty percent. A new joint venture is being developed to manufacture metal frames domestically using laser cutting and robotic welding — a move that would halve production costs and anchor more of the supply chain inside Cuba.
China's ambassador, Hua Xin, accompanying the president, argued that Vedca's importance lies not only in what it produces but in how it produces it — using renewable energy within its own walls. He credited Díaz-Canel's long-term bet on renewables as the foundation of Cuba's current resilience, and pledged that China would deepen its support for the island's energy transition, with Vedca as the model.
As he departed, Díaz-Canel called on the factory to become a standard-bearer for innovation, digital transformation, and the kind of modern socialist enterprise Cuba is trying to build. Visiting a place like this, he said — when the country faces intensified blockade and energy pressure — was deeply encouraging. It showed that this group of workers was not waiting for conditions to improve, but building the conditions themselves.
Miguel Díaz-Canel walked through the Vedca factory in Havana's Boyeros municipality on a Friday afternoon in May, moving past assembly lines of electric bicycles, motorcycles, and tricycles. The Cuban president was there to see what a partnership between a Chinese industrial group and a Cuban company could produce—and to signal, in concrete terms, what he believes Cuba's energy future looks like.
Vedca, the International Economic Association for Caribbean Electric Vehicles, began operations in 2021, emerging from a joint venture between Tianjin Dongxing Industrial Group and the Cuban firm Minerva. The numbers tell a story of rapid scaling. In its first year, the factory assembled one thousand units. By 2025, that had grown to ten thousand. The operation generated more than twelve million dollars in revenue and brought nearly two million dollars in foreign currency into Cuba—a significant figure for an island under economic pressure.
Díaz-Canel framed the visit as evidence of something larger: the "Community of Shared Future" Cuba is building with China. He called Vedca a concrete expression of that partnership, an innovative facility that contributes to national development. But he also positioned the factory within Cuba's three strategic priorities: defense, food production, and energy transition. Electric mobility, he argued, is essential to that last goal. "We can talk about electric mobility all we want," he said, "but without the equipment we cannot achieve it."
The factory currently operates three main production lines: electric bicycles, electric motorcycles, and electric tricycles. Later this year, it plans to add electric cars with medium range—capable of traveling 200 to 250 kilometers on a charge, with speeds of 80 to 90 kilometers per hour—and electric pickup trucks, with two models already approved. Vedca employs ninety-six workers, including twenty women, with an average age of forty-six and a monthly salary of sixteen thousand five hundred pesos. The company provides food supplements to stabilize its workforce.
Díaz-Canel urged the workers and managers to think ambitiously, to diversify product lines, and to apply innovation to Cuba's needs. He suggested extending electric vehicles to food production support, to the transport of medicines in refrigerated units, and to public recreation through mobile units equipped with solar panels and audiovisual screens. A new joint venture is also in development to manufacture metal frames for tricycles domestically, using laser cutting and robotic welding—a move that would cut costs by more than half and keep more production in Cuba.
The factory's approach to energy reveals its symbolic importance. The administrative building already runs on solar power, and by late summer or early fall, Vedca expects to disconnect entirely from Cuba's national electrical grid. Every tricycle assembled from now on will include a solar panel that extends its range by thirty to forty percent. The company is also studying foldable solar systems for motorcycles and bicycles, and fixed charging stations that can serve both the vehicles and homes.
Demand exceeds current supply. The state retail chain TRD has already purchased more than one thousand bicycles and motorcycles this year alone. The goal is to deliver more than twenty thousand units by year's end. Julio Oscar Pérez Pérez, Vedca's director, explained that sales flow through international payment platforms—reaching customers outside Cuba—and through state-owned retail chains and companies with available funds.
China's ambassador to Cuba, Hua Xin, who accompanied the president and is in his second year of service on the island, emphasized that Vedca does more than produce equipment powered by renewable energy; it uses renewable energy in its own manufacturing process. He credited Díaz-Canel's vision for betting on renewable sources and noted that without such efforts in recent years, Cuba would lack the resilience to withstand what he called illegal sanctions and the American energy blockade. China, he said, intends to deepen its support for Cuba's energy transition and to make Vedca a model of bilateral cooperation.
As Díaz-Canel left, he called on Vedca to become a standard-bearer for renewable energy, innovation, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence—to be the kind of modern, flexible, competitive socialist enterprise Cuba wants to build. He also acknowledged the weight of the moment: visiting a factory like this, he said, when the country faces hardship from intensified blockade and energy pressure, is deeply encouraging. It shows that this group of workers and managers is fighting and working for development.
Citas Notables
This factory is a concrete expression of the Community of Shared Future we are building with China— Miguel Díaz-Canel, Cuban President
Without the efforts of recent years, Cuba would not have the resilience to withstand illegal sanctions and the American energy blockade— Hua Xin, Chinese Ambassador to Cuba
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Díaz-Canel choose to visit this factory now, in May 2026? What's the timing about?
Cuba is under real economic strain—the blockade has tightened, energy is scarce. A factory producing ten thousand electric vehicles a year, generating foreign currency and moving toward energy independence, is a visible sign that the system can still build something. It's not abstract policy; it's workers assembling real machines.
The numbers jumped dramatically—from one thousand units in 2021 to ten thousand in 2025. How did that happen so fast?
The partnership with the Chinese company gave them manufacturing expertise and supply chains. But also, there was nowhere else for Cuba to get these vehicles. Demand was there. The state retail chain alone bought over a thousand units this year. When you're the only source, you grow fast.
The solar panels on the tricycles—thirty to forty percent more range—that seems almost incidental to the main story. Why does it matter?
It's not incidental. It's the whole point. A vehicle that charges itself as it moves, that doesn't depend on the grid, that's independence. By late summer, the factory itself won't need the national grid at all. That's not just manufacturing; that's a statement about what's possible when you're cut off from external energy sources.
Díaz-Canel suggested using these vehicles for medicine transport and food production. Aren't those pretty distant from what the factory actually does?
He's thinking about what the equipment could become in a resource-constrained economy. A refrigerated tricycle carrying vaccines to rural areas, a solar-powered mobile screen bringing entertainment to communities—these aren't fantasies. They're applications that make sense when you have limited fuel and limited money.
The ambassador mentioned that without these efforts, Cuba couldn't show resilience against sanctions. Is that overstating it?
Not really. Vedca brought in two million dollars in foreign currency last year. That's real money in an economy that's starved for it. And every electric vehicle reduces dependence on imported fuel. When you're isolated, self-sufficiency in energy and transportation isn't luxury—it's survival.
What happens if the expansion into electric cars and trucks doesn't work? If demand drops?
That's the risk. Right now demand exceeds supply. But scaling up to cars and trucks is different from tricycles. The margins are tighter, the competition is global, and Cuba's market is small. The factory is betting that the partnership with China holds, that foreign sales keep flowing, and that the state keeps buying. If any of those breaks, the growth story stops.