Solar-powered tricycles help Cubans navigate fuel shortages and blackouts

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https://apnews.com/article/cuba-fuel-crisis-electric-tricycles-fa75dc2aca5b78dac90b1e86c7c762b1

Solar-powered tricycles help Cubans navigate fuel shortages and blackouts
By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
Updated 11:38 AM CDT, July 10, 2026



HAVANA (AP) — Cuba’s iconic vintage cars have all but disappeared and in their place, small electric tricycles — most of them made in China — have become the primary means of transportation for hundreds of thousands of Cubans grappling with a prolonged fuel crisis.

These are no ordinary electric tricycles — many Cubans have outfitted them with solar panels, allowing the vehicles to recharge without relying on the island nation’s strained power grid.

The three-wheelers are a far cry from the old-timers that only a year ago cruised the streets spewing clouds of black smoke.

“This is how people get around now,” said 40-year-old Liecer de la Cruz, who owns one of these vehicles.

The tricycles, with a cost between $2,000 and $4,000, are used to transport goods and serve fixed routes once covered by buses.

While their price is out of reach for most Cubans, many have sold their older gasoline-powered cars to buy the tricycles. Others got them from relatives abroad, where they are generally cheaper, and some small-business owners even used their profits to invest in them, expecting to recoup the cost.

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