Contractors have been asked to respond to a request for information on the supply of electric vehicles for the government fleet.The RFI was issued through the Ministry of Public Works and green energy consultants the Rocky Mountain Institute to gather details about the marketplace to help determine “future purchasing options or requirements”.It said that the ministry’s Department of Works and Engineering was responsible for procuring all types of vehicles for the government fleet.The RFI said: “The fleet of over 600 vehicles includes motorcycles, cars, trucks and various medium and heavy-duty vocational vehicles. “This RFI only considers models on the market in 2020, which are currently or could be made available in Bermuda.“The phased electrification of the government fleet provides a key opportunity for the Government to lead by example, to create necessary skill sets and financial services around electric vehicles, and to stimulate the market for EV adoption.”The document, issued on August 31 and published on the government website, said that “two key areas of support” in the RFI were expected to tackle “the primary challenges to electrification that are common for island nations”.It added: “Overcoming the first cost hurdle is necessary and even more important in the current era of capital constrained budgets. Ensuring operational reliability and uptime is equally necessary, in order to bolster follow-on purchases by government agencies. “It is anticipated that solutions to both challenges will create momentum and drive long-term market adoption of electrified vehicles.”Vendors and suppliers were asked to consider that “motorcycles and cars are the primary area of interest given the well understood first costs and market maturity”.The request added that service and taxi vans as well as trucks of all sizes were “a secondary area of interest if models are available on the market today”.It said: “Import tax duties are forgiven on electric vehicles, but shipping or landing fees should be included when responding to this request.”The RFI, which has a September 28 deadline, added that loan and lease options were “highly desired”.It said: “Lease options are particularly desirable to overcome warranty risk to the Government and importantly to provide an accelerated rate of turnover in support of the on-island used EV market.” The document added: “This is not a request for proposals or solicitation for formal proposals. “The information collected through this RFI will be used to evaluate the market landscape for Government Fleet EV procurement and financing.”The Rocky Mountain Institute is a non-profit organisation with expertise in green energy that advises the Bermuda Government.It released a report in June on Green Stimulus in the Caribbean, which highlighted the use of small electric rental cars in Bermuda to support tourism.The report added that the country was one of a few islands to “have made some headway in establishing electric vehicle markets”.