Over the past few years, very little has shaken up the auto industry more than the widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).
From Europe to Asia to North America, EV’s are changing the way people see automobiles and transportation in general.
In 2016, 11,000 EVs were sold in Canada – a 56 per cent increase from the previous year, according to numbers from FleetCarma. To date, there are about 30,000 EVs on Canadian roads. Nearly 95 per cent of these sales occurred in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
The list of new models available in the market for Canadian consumers is also steadily increasing. FleetCarma notes that for 2016, there were nine new plug-in models: the Audi A3 e-tron, Tesla Model X, Volvo XC90, BMW 330e, BMW 740e, BMW X5 xDrive40e, Hyundai Sonata PHEV, Mercedes GLE550e and the Mercedes S550e. In addition, we started seeing registrations of the Chevrolet Bolt, Chrysler Pacifica PHV and Hyundai Ioniq in January of 2017.
It’s clear that EV’s in Canada are taking off, but how do we measure up to the rest of the world?
Government efforts to accelerate the adoption of EV’s are still at the provincial level in Canada. In British Columbia for example, the goal is to hit an EV selling target of five per cent of light duty vehicles by 2020 (in BC, March 2017 saw 4% of new car sales as EVs so we’re well on our way). In Quebec, the provincial government has a goal of having 100,000 on Quebec’s roads by 2020.
EVs in Europe, in comparison, are flying off the shelves. According to reports from Clean Technica, the European market is forecasted to reach 300,000 new EV registrations by the end of the year. Year-to-date, the European EV market is up 27 per cent.
Leading the pack is Norway with the highest number of all-electric vehicles per capita – 100,000 EVs for a population of 5.2 million, according to a Bloomberg article published in May. EV sales also made up almost 40 per cent of new car sales last year, according to The Guardian.
In Asia, China saw 44,874 new EVs being sold in December 2016 alone, according to Clean Technica. As China continues to curb its emissions and reduce its air pollution, China is quickly becoming another leader in the EV front, unveiling a number of never-before-seen concept SUV’s at the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this year.
Electric vehicles are becoming more and more affordable as automakers compete to produce more for consumers. As the costs of the battery continue to lower, we can only expect even more people to choose to drive EVs.
If you’re interested in purchasing an EV, be sure to check out the CEVforBC™ initiative – a province-wide program that allows British Columbians to potentially save money on the purchase of an EV. Through the CEVforBC™ program, residents, businesses and non-profit organizations who purchase or lease qualifying vehicles receive up to $5,000 off the pre-tax sticker price for a new battery electric, fuel-cell electric and plug-in hybrid EV and up to $6,000 off for a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. Stop by your local new car dealer today and they’d be happy to assist you with your next vehicle purchase. Happy EV hunting!
Blair Qualey is President and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of BC. You can email him at [email protected].
