SOLUTIONSPlus Scale-Up Concept Note: Accelerating Low-Carbon Urban Logistics in Quito, Ecuador

Summary

The Quito scale up concept examines how the SOLUTIONSplus demonstration can inform a broader transition toward low carbon mobility in Ecuador. The document begins with an extensive review of the national and municipal policy environment, highlighting the country’s climate commitments, energy efficiency laws, mobility reforms, and sustainable urban mobility frameworks. These policies establish supportive intentions, but the note identifies a persistent gap between regulatory ambitions and the institutional, financial and technical capacities required for implementation. This gap is particularly visible in electric vehicle adoption, where limited incentives, fragmented governance and a weak supply chain constrain progress. The study presents the outcomes of the demonstration in the Historic Center of Quito, which tested a multimodal e mobility hub using locally assembled light electric vehicles for last mile logistics. The pilot demonstrated operational feasibility, improved efficiency for logistics operators, and measurable reductions in emissions during the test period. The document also shows how vehicle testing, prototype development, performance assessments and operator feedback became inputs for refining vehicle design and piloting schemes. Complementary activities in e buses, digital tools and capability strengthening illustrate how the demonstration served as an entry point for a broader institutional transition. The concept note then outlines the proposed scale up approach, which connects SOLUTIONSplus with two major follow up programmes, the GEF7 project and the ACCESS project. These initiatives extend pilot activities, consolidate cross docking logistics, expand light electric vehicle fleets, introduce rented electric vans and develop digital platforms for logistics optimisation and passenger information. The note emphasises the alignment of the scale up measures with national mobility and climate policies, and with Quito’s long term Sustainable Mobility Master Plan. It concludes that advancing low carbon mobility in Ecuador requires simultaneous progress in regulation, institutionalisation, digitalisation, capacity building and investment, with the Historic Center pilot serving as a replicable model for other cities