Axel Capriles Hernández: “The hybrid car won’t remain forever”

Coronavirus crisis is changing the priorities and needs of consumers, even in terms time and space. People want to spend as little time as possible when they do their purchases, and one of the tools helping them is contact less payments. Searching for an improval on this matter, Totam, devised by businessman Axel Capriles Hernández, is an app whose objective is gathering payment management, price comparison and loyalty card in one single application in our mobile phone, specifically designed for buying gasoline and diesel.

Although hybrid and electric are the main train on vehicles right now, the consumption of fossil fuels has not decline, showing that they are still the rival to beat. Even more, after the controversies over diesel pollution, everyday more drivers chose gasoline, instead of electric cars.

We talk with Axel Capriles about the future of fossil fuels, on how Totam would work on the USA and if we'll see a majority of electric cars on the streets in the short term.

Axel Capriles: "The market of gasoline and diesel will remain as the main source of energy for the next thirty years"

-What will be the end for fossil fuel?

Well, I think gasoline and diesel will remain an essential energy source for the next couple of decades. It would be needed a black swan effect -I mean, an unexpected event with disproportionate consequences- to change this trend.

-Aren't renewable energies ready to replace fossil fuels?

I would say no. Right now, oil has 33% of the market in the world enery matrix, followed by natural gas and coal, but renewable energies only have a 5% of the market.

-Why is that? Is there any obstacle for electric cars to the market penetration?

We are still not able to build a battery that is at the same time small and with enough capacity to long distance travel, and that's a true handicap. The advances in electric cars have been important, but they are not sufficient to replace the comfort of traditional cars.

-So the market is not ready for the electric car?

There's an exception where the electric car has been fully adapted and where we'll see a grow in its use: highly populated cities. In cities its easier to install recharging points, and the trips are shorter, so there is no need for high-storage batteries.

-What will prevail: electric cars like Tesla's or hybrid cars?

Electric cars are already a reality and there are lots of brands that are producing electric cars. I see that hybrid cars are more a temporary bridge solution, and will only last until the electric car is fully consolidated.

Axel Capriles Hernández: "The US is a risky market"

-Talking about Totam, it is a marketplace whose intention is gathering services offered in service stations. Why did you decide develop this app?

I think the consumers needed a useful tool to improve the experience on the service station. Totam is an app that reduce the time by 20%, just by gathering payment and loyalty cards in the same app, and offering discounts when paying with Totampay.

-Will it be available internationally?

Right now we are in process of launching a pilot program in Mexico and Spain, but we intend to make it work worldwide. -Also in the US?

Well, it is true that the USA market has some difficulty due to the atomization of service stations in the US. It will be needed a huge investment just to adapt the technology. Furthermore, we can see how Gasbuddy has failed to gain loyalty to their platform, and they are obliged to keep investing in programs to attract new customers, without good results.

-Has the coronavirus increased the use of the app in the countries where it is available?

Yes, the pandemic has helped a lot, even in the pilot program. At the end of the day, customers want to reduce the risk of contagion, and Totam is specially designed to reduce personal contact.