Fewer Canadians are looking to buy electric vehicles, according to a new survey from Auto Trader, which shows less than half of Canadians are interested in making the switch, saying they have concerns about the future of the technology.
“When you have a car on fuel, there is no problem to find a gas station, but with an electric car, then you have a problem,” one person told CityNews.
Jason Grech, the general manager at International Motor Cars in Calgary, says he understands that perspective.
“You don’t really want to drive to Edmonton for three hours and then sit for two hours to charge your vehicle and then head back,” he said.
Grech says they’ve seen steep declines between the purchase of electric vehicles and gasoline-powered vehicles, which he believes is due to a lack of proper infrastructure.
“I think for electric vehiclecs to become successful in the Alberta market, incentivization is extremely important for the comsumer — whether it is solar power in your house, or finding other stations that they can charge along the way in longer or greater distances,” he said.
Grech is still optimistic that the EV market has a future, providing it gets the right support.
But, it may still take some convincing for consumers.
“Considering all the expenses that Canadians are incurring right now, I think — especially with food prices and gas prices — I think it is becoming increasingly more difficult to make sustainable choices,” one woman told CityNews.
“[They’re] more, expensive, not practical, the technology is not there,” a man added.
In the most recent provincial budget, the Alberta government announced a new $200 annual tax on electric vehicles, set to begin in 2025.
The province has said the reason for the tax is so EV drivers pay their fair share for expenses like road maintenance.
CityNews660 business reporter Mike Eppel says stock in Tesla is up 11.5 per cent Wednesday, amid comments by CEO Elon Musk the company could start production of a Tesla Model 2 — a cheaper EV model — as soon as later this year.
The company has seen a slump in sales and profit in Q1.