Buying a car is a big decision, especially if you’re switching from a traditional gas car to an electric one. Electric vehicles are quickly becoming more popular in Canada and offer several advantages including low to zero emission, low maintenance, and ability to charge the car at home. But is an EV right for your lifestyle?
Here are 6 questions you should ask yourself before buying an electric vehicle:
1. Would you like a quieter driving experience?
Electric vehicles are so silent that companies had to make a fake sound, so passersby are aware. Even then EVs are quieter compared to gas-powered cars. If you enjoy a quieter driving experience, especially on our scenic Canadian roads, this is the way to go.
2. Do you have an EV charging station near your home?
EVs need around 8 hours to charge completely. It’s likely that you’ll be sharing the EV charger with your neighbours in a condo or your nearest charging station. Before you decide on the purchase, find out the number of compatible stations in your area, their charging speed, and reviews on Google.
3. How many kilometres do you plan to drive every week?
Electric vehicles offer anywhere between 160 to 450 kilometre driving range per charge. Tesla offers the best range but it’s also quite expensive. Earlier models from Nissan and BMW have the lowest range.
These are just estimates and your car’s actual driving range will depend on battery age, ambient temperature, use of vehicle climate control, and terrain (highways, uphill, downhill, suburban areas, and more).
4. Do you know EVs experience significant range loss during winters?
Expect your car’s battery capacity to reduce by at least 30 percent during our brutal Canadian winters. To protect the battery from rapid decline, you’ll have to partially heat the battery when the car’s charging. You’ll also need to invest in winter tires, especially if your car’s front drive.
5. Would you have access to backup transportation?
Like we mentioned earlier, EVs need a lot of downtime for charging. There will be times your car won’t have enough power to drive. It’s crucial to have backup transportation like public transit or even a second car, so you can commute wherever you want to go.
6. Can you install an EV charger at home?
Most condo management don’t allow installing an EV charger. There are a few that are allowed in Vancouver. However, many condos now offer charging stations that you’ll share with those EV owners in the condo. If you live in a house, you can install one at home. Chargers start at $995 (plus tax) and can operate at a temperature range of -40°C to 50°C. It provides 7.2kW of power and can charge most standard electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids in approximately eight hours.
Buying a pre-owned EV will save you some money. Used Tesla cars work the best but look specifically at the battery capacity and driving range.
Everyone around you is talking about rising costs of living and gas prices. A recent survey by Clean Energy Canada, a program at Simon Fraser University, confirmed that switching to an electric vehicle can save you tens-of-thousands of dollars over its lifetime. Climate change was ranked as one of the top pressing issues for the next decade by Canadians across age groups.
While electric vehicles aren’t a solution for either rising gas prices or climate change, they definitely are a big help. Clean Energy Canada compared total ownership costs of popular electric car models against well-known traditional car models. They assumed eight years of driving and up to 20,000 km of driven distance every year.
Breaking down the results
Hyundai Kona, Canada’s second-most selling EV in 2021, performed the best. When compared to a gas-powered car in the same price range, Kona has a lifetime cost of $56,000. On the other hand, the gas version’s lifetime cost is $71,100. The report considered the gas price at $1.35/litre, which was the average in 2021 but still extremely below the current British Columbia rates.
Bulk of your savings will come from saving on gas but electric vehicles also require less maintenance. For example, the maintenance cost of a 2022 Chevrolet Bolt costs half compared to a gas-powered 2022 Toyota Corolla hatchback.
According to a report by KPMG, 60 percent of Canadians feel it’s time to buy an electric car and 51 percent say they’ll never buy a gas-powered vehicle. Rising gas prices and climate change have been two important catalysts driving Canadians towards EVs. 48 percent confirmed that their next car will be an electric one.
Electric vehicle industry faces a huge challenge
While the demand’s quickly rising, Peter Hatges, communications director with Clean Energy Canada, is worried about the supply. You can’t go to a dealership, buy the car you like, and drive home in it. There’s a few weeks to months of waiting until you receive your electric vehicle.
The federal government announced a requirement this week that by 2030, 60 percent of total cars sold must be electric. By 2023, all vehicles are expected to be zero emission. On April 4, 2022, the government announced to contribute $259 million to General Motors’ efforts to revitalize its auto manufacturing operations across Ontario and boost EV production. They are expected to make similar contributions throughout the year.
GM has invested over $2 billion until now and will use the federal contribution towards the assembly plant in Ingersoll where they’ll start producing electric commercial vans later this year. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, mentioned in a press release that the contribution aims at generating more jobs for Canadians, more clean vehicles, and better economic growth.
2022 is going to be a massive year for the electric vehicle industry. Global giants, Sony and Honda announced on March 4, 2022 that they will team up to develop and sell electric vehicles. They’ve also invited other automobile companies to join their project. With the aim of launching their first product in 2025, the two companies have divided responsibilities to streamline the process.
Joint venture of automobile innovation
Kenichiro Yoshida, Sony CEO, said that in this venture they would like to lead the mobility evolution by combining their technology and experience with Honda’s long experience in mobility development and vehicle body manufacturing technologies.
During the press conference, which was held in Tokyo, Japan, Toshihiro Mibe, Honda CEO, said that they don’t plan to take this venture public anytime soon but are open to that idea. This partnership comes at the exact time Honda has been under pressure for developing carbon-free automobiles. Sony, on the other hand, wants to transform into an important player in next generation vehicles. While they didn’t reveal any financial data, they promised that their product will be equipped with features beyond the traditional ones offered today.
This announcement comes weeks after Sony announced that they’re forming a new company, Sony Mobility, to enter the EV market. They also released the prototype for their very first SUV, VISION-S 02.
Other tech companies expanding into the EV industry
Baidu and Xiaomi, two major Chinese technology companies, announced recently that they’ve formed an electric vehicle brand as well. Xiaomi announced they’ll be investing $10 billion over the next 10 years in their company, Xiaomi EV, Inc. It is already 300 employees strong.
Baidu formed a joint venture with Chinese automobile maker Geely. It is called Jidu and Baidu just recently invested $400 million after they received $300 million in funding in initial capital last year. It will be used towards research, development, and mass manufacturing.
Competition on rise in the EV market
The main focus of this competition is going to be about making batteries cheaper, faster, and less vulnerable to raw material shortages. Today, batteries cost one-third of the total making costs. Automakers and tech companies understand that there’s a big demand for electric vehicles and are investing in EV startups, so they aren’t left behind.
Tesla, which has the biggest market share in the EV industry, still depends on Asian markets for their batteries. US President Biden has encouraged companies to move their battery supply chain to the country, so political and geographical factors don’t interrupt the production.
Toronto recently signed a five-year pilot program to replace trucks and vans with e-cargo bikes to reduce traffic and pollutants. Following Toronto’s footsteps, several Ontario cities are planning to switch to adopt the same strategy.
Weighing just over 120 kg, these cargo e-bikes will be fitted with a delivery box. Downtown Toronto will be the first one to test around 20 – 40 e-bikes. They will be allowed to utilise commercial loading and delivery parking zones, which are usually used by delivery vans and trucks.
Implementing new provincial regulations
Aimed at reducing traffic and pollution levels, the Ontario government has asked participating cities to modify their bylaws to allow cargo e-bikes in bicycle lanes. Back in 2020, Toronto tested pedal-assisted e-bikes weighing under 120 kg. It was a successful pilot that helped businesses fulfil local orders during the pandemic.
Ottawa and London are already a part of the new pilot program having joined it back in September 2021. All major cities in Canada face two issues in common – traffic and unavailability of parking spots. In the GTA and Hamilton area, transportation is responsible for 34 % of total emissions.
With Canada’s rapidly growing e-commerce industry, private delivery companies have shown great interest in e-bikes. These include Canada Post, Purolator, DHL, Fedex, and Penguin PickUp.
Potential for bigger cargo e-bikes in Ontario
The new program with e-bikes weighing 120 kg was introduced after the success of smaller cargo e-bikes in Toronto. The definition of cargo e-bikes will keep changing throughout the pilot as more features are added to them.
Currently, an e-bike is an electric-powered bicycle with minimum speed of 32 km/hr and maximum output of 1,000 watts. They also must have a box or platform that can be used to transport packages or larger personal items. They are currently not allowed on highways.
Nazzareno Capano, manager of transportation policy and innovation at the City of Toronto, mentioned in an interview that with bigger storage capacity and increased flexibility, cargo e-bikes can become a permanent part of the city’s transportation.
Monitoring the pilot’s success
The pilot will monitor parking accessibility and overnight storage options of the cargo e-bikes. The program will go through several modifications until 2026 (when the pilot ends) and also assess how it is benefitting the locals, cities, and private companies. Zero-emission vehicles are the future of e-commerce delivery in Canada. It is not only a sustainable choice but also makes Canadian cities more liveable.
If you’ve been following the news, you know there are some amazing companies promoting sustainable technologies. In 2022, we’re seeing a lot of traditional automotive companies like Ford and General Motors make the switch and launch eco-friendly electric vehicles. It’s obvious that there’s a huge demand for EVs. Tesla’s sales doubled to 960,172 vehicles in 2021 and is expected to cross 1 million this year. There are plenty of players, big and small, in the electric vehicle market. Some promising, some not so promising.
Let’s take a look at some promising and not-so-promising EV startups of 2022:
Promising EV Startups
1. Rivian
Rivian win’s the list after its R1T pickup was named Motor Trend Truck of the Year, which is now on sale. It received early investments from Amazon and Ford, which put the EV brand on the global map. Production delays in 2021 made us doubt Rivian’s promise but it still has a huge market value of $90 billion, more than well-established big leaders including Ford and General Motors.
2. Lucid
Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid, is most well-known for giving the world Tesla Model S. He left Tesla just three years later to become Lucid’s CTO and become their CEO in 2019. Lucid currently has five models of Lucid Air in the market, all of which are sedans. The price tag? The lowest model starts at $105,000 and has a 653 kilometres driving range. However, they are planning to release more mainstream SUVs and sedans in the near future.
3. Nio
Nio is a popular Chinese EV brand trying to enter the North American market. While they struggled back in 2019 to get investments, steady sales, swapping the battery for longer driving, and their car designs has made it a brand to watch out for. They have a unique business model where they are creating an ecosystem of EV cars, charging solutions (NIO Power), subscription services (BaaS), NIO Life, NIO Spaces, and NIO House. To be honest, the business model is quite unique and would make or break their position in the North American market.
Not-so-promising EV Startups
1. Atlis
An EV startup focusing on commercial and fleet clientele, Atlis is currently developing an unusual battery-tech. These are square cells that can hold up to 1 megawatt of energy and could charge their EV as quickly as filling gas. It sounds too good to be true, so we aren’t too sure about this EV brand.
2. Canoo
Remember the old VW Microbus? Canoo’s minivan pushes its occupant right at the front and has placed the batteries at the bottom. While this creates a massive space inside the car, we doubt people would want to buy outdated-looking minivans.
3. Byton
When Byton was first introduced in the market, it looked promising. Their M-byte concept launched at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show impressed many but constant management turnover, lack of cash flow, and the pandemic weakened the company. They recently shut down their US headquarters and moved back to China.
Stay updated with the latest news from the EV industry here at Wieser Electric.
Canada aims to become zero-emission by 2050 and Federal Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, has started putting a plan in place. Currently, road transportation accounts for 20% of total greenhouse gases emitted in Canada. According to the plan, the federal government wants 50% of all new vehicles sold by 2030 to be zero-emission and 100% by 2035.
Only 3% of cars registered in Canada are EV or zero-emission. The Canada-wide EV sales quote mandate will come into effect by late 2022 or early 2023. Guilbeault has already held several consultation sessions for expert advice on the mandate, how it will affect the Canadian auto industry, and whether there should be an interim goal before 2030.
Provincial sales quota mandate is working wonders
Quebec implemented the EV sales quota mandate in 2018 and British Columbia introduced it in 2020. Both provinces have seen a drastic increase of electric cars sold compared to the rest of the nation. Three out of four new EVs purchased in Canada were in Quebec and British Columbia in 2020. They also offer rebates to incentivise EV sales. According to the mandate, carmakers have to pay $5,000 for every car they aren’t able to sell from their quota.
Seeing the success, Yukon, Northwest Territories, and all four Atlantic provinces have introduced EV rebates in the last 18 months. Sales in Ontario went considerably down after the provincial government stopped the EV rebate. Before 2018, 19% of national sales came from Ontario. Waiting for auto deliveries has been the worst amidst the global supply chain crisis.
Becoming a leader in EV sales
Whether Canada implements the mandate or not, EV sales will continue to rise but won’t benefit the federal government. Norway’s EV rebates have made the country a leader in global sales. In 2020, 75% of cars sold in Norway were electric vehicles. Many European Union countries are increasing their rebates to make EVs more affordable. Germany recently passed a law that requires every gas station to have an EV charging station.
Omar Alghabra, Canada’s transportation minister, said that introducing the mandate will not only change consumer behaviour but also the supply chain system and rules and regulations in the auto industry.
Another critical aspect is preparing car dealerships. They will need EV charging stations and train staff on sales and maintenance. While introducing a mandate will help Canada lower greenhouse gases emission, dealerships should be given enough time to make changes and also switch their pricing model to continue profiting from the sales.
Thinking of buying an electric vehicle? Installing a wall charger at home takes away the pressure of driving up to a public EV charging station. Plug in at night and wake up to a fully-charged car in the morning.
Wieser Electric is your local licensed electric car charger installer in Kingston, Belleville, Trenton, Quinte West, Cobourg, Napanee, Gananoque, Lansdowne, Brockville, Smith Falls, Perth, Kemptville, and Tweed, Ontario. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Ford has got us excited about their all electric F-150 Lightning. Here’s some good news for all Ford truck fans out there : The F-150 Lighting will be able to charge other F-150 Lightnings.
Linda Zhang, Chief Engineer, the brains behind the F-150 Lightning, mentioned during the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show that Ford went through multiple challenges to ensure the new EV truck ranks high on performance and practicality.
According to Zhang, Ford is experimenting with charging other EVs with the Lightning however other EV models don’t currently have the Mach-E system, which is needed to transmit and accept electricity. Zhang had this idea after the launch of the 2021 Ford F-150 PowerBoost.
In other news
There’s been an interesting turn of events regarding the collaboration between Ford and Rivian to make a new Ford electric vehicle. A Ford spokesperson mentioned that after extensive discussions with Rivian, both have jointly decided to not pursue any EV development.
Ford owns 12% of the company, which became public in November 2021. Rivian is currently worth one and a half times more than the Michigan automaker.
Rivian Electric Truck
Other than that, Ford’s continuing with their plan of increasing EV production. Recently, the company’s CEO, Jim Farley tweeted that they will produce 600,000 electric vehicles every year until 2023. They took this decision to meet the rise in demand across America.
With many people starting to make the switch already, the future is bright for EVs across North America. Apart from being eco-friendly alternative to gasoline-powered vehicles, the ability to charge EVs at home is a major selling point.
Wieser Electric is Kingston’s leading electric vehicle charger installer. We’d love to answer any questions you have about at-home EV charging.
Send us an email at david@wieserelectric.ca or call us at 613-985-0046 for more information.
By 2025, General Motors is expected to launch 30 new electric cars with an aim of building a zero-emissions future. Back in January 2021, the company announced that they plan to be 100% carbon neutral by 2040 and start selling zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
GM reported $122.5 billion in annual global revenue in 2020, around $15 billion less than 2019’s total revenue of $137.2 billion. They expect to double their sales by 2030, most of which will be through electric car sales.
Diversifying into new markets
Auto insurance, autonomous vehicle ride hailing, delivery services, and defense contracting are some of the new markets GM plans to enter by the end of this decade. They’re expected to boost their annual revenue by $50 billion once they start selling rides through their robotaxi unit.
Another major announcement made by GM on Wednesday was about Ultra Cruise, a sophisticated hands-free, driver assist technology that’s expected to hit the market in 2023. With electric vehicle buyers on the rise, GM expects to make most of its profit from the electric car market.
Electric GMC Hummer pickup
Making electric vehicles more affordable
While General Motors tops car sales in the US, they rank poorly against Tesla when it comes to electric vehicles. Ever since launching the Chevrolet Bolt in December 2016, GM has only sold 100,000 units. On the other hand, Tesla has sold more than 627,000 cars across the globe.
Get ready to welcome some high-end EVs from General Motors by 2022 including GMC Hummer pickup, Cadillac Lyriq EV, and Chevrolet Silverado EV.
The audience also got a sneak peek into some of GM’s more affordable electric vehicles. They will be launching a small Chevrolet SUV priced at US$ 30,000 and an electric Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck that will have a driving range of 640 kilometers per charge.
On Wednesday, GM revealed plans to upgrade its Ultium battery technology to make it more energy dense. It will lower costs by 60% compared to present-day EV batteries. They will feature a Nickel Cobalt Manganese Aluminum chemistry and use 70% less cobalt. GM is also committed to recycle 100% of the returned batteries in their attempt to be zero-emission. Their Lordstown, Ohio plant will be mass-producing the batteries through a joint venture with LG Energy Solution.
Investing in the future of zero-emission vehicles
Until now, GM has invested over $300 million in their Lake Orion, Michigan facility, $2 billion in Spring Hill, and $2.2 billion in Detroit-Hamtramck for easier and faster assembly of EVs. They’ve invested another $40 million Pontiac Stamping for quicker installation of Flexible Fabrication manufacturing. Another $28 million will go towards their battery testing lab expansion located in Warren, Michigan. Overall, the company will be creating 38,000 new jobs within the next decade.
In 2020, Canada only sold 54,353 new electric vehicles, just 3.5% of the total number of new cars sold. While the pandemic is one strong reason for the low numbers, there are many more reasons people stray away from an electric vehicle.
Electric cars have a shorter range than gas-powered cars, so going on long trips can be inconvenient, especially when there’s a lack of charging stations. Other than that, these cars take almost an hour to charge. Electric vehicle sales are expected to boost in comping years, despite these advantages. Canada faces a huge deficit in public charging stations, which most people rely on for a quick charge.
Canadian government’s huge investment in electric vehicle infrastructure
Canada has around 6,000 charging stations spread across the country that supports the 3 percent EVs currently on the road. The government has also invested over $1 billion since 2015 to build the infrastructure. They have also been offering multiple incentives and tax rebates.
They plan to ensure all vehicles on the road will be zero emission by 2035 (it was set for 2040 earlier). This only means that there’ll be over 35 million zero emission electric cars that’ll require charging stations.
Currently, the Canadian government is offering a generous subsidy to build electric vehicle charging stations. Chevrolet announced in June 2021 that they’re offering a $750 credit to EV owners. FLO, a Quebec City-based startup, owns these charging stations. They own the most number of charging stations in Canada.
Removing another roadblock
To make the electric vehicle industry in Canada a success, EV automakers should allow car owners to charge at privately owned charging stations. It would also be the first step towards allowing EV car owners to charge at a public station without needing any apps. Wieser Electric specialises in charging station and residential wall connector installations in Kingston and surrounding areas. Contact us today for a free consultation with our licensed and experienced electrician.
The North American electric vehicle market is growing faster than ever and with Tesla’s newest announcement, it’s only going to be bigger! Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk, announced on Twitter that they will open its network to other EV brands later this year.
Tesla currently owns 25,000 superchargers globally. While it is a surprising move by Tesla, many speculate Musk made the announcement after the US Senate announced its $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Bill in June 2021. According to the bill, the federal government has allocated $7.5 billion to the electric vehicle infrastructure.
First launch will be in the US, followed by other markets
Two important standards that these supercharging stations must have include “to serve vehicles produced by more than one vehicle manufacturer” and “a charging connector type or means to transmit electricity to vehicles that meets applicable industry accepted practices and safety standards”.
Musk went on to explain that non-Tesla users will have to download an app through which they’ll be able to charge their vehicles.
While we have to wait longer than our friends south of the border, this is great news for the Canadian EV owners too. Traveling long distances will be easier and the waiting times will get shorter while traveling across the border and cross country eventually!
To be eligible for the funding, Tesla will first open its network in the US. This will allow other EV users access and also encourage more people to buy electric vehicles.
Here’s the complete section on Charging Stations in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill:
SEC. 1211. ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS.
(a) Electric Vehicle Charging Stations.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 154 the following new section:
Ҥ 155. Electric vehicle charging stations
“(a) In General.—Any electric vehicle charging infrastructure funded under this title shall be subject to the requirements of this section.
“(b) Interoperability.—An electric vehicle charging station funded under this title shall—
“(1) provide a charging connector type or means to transmit electricity to vehicles that meets applicable industry accepted practices and safety standards; and
“(2) have the ability to serve vehicles produced by more than one vehicle manufacturer.
“(c) Open Access To Payment.—Electric vehicle charging stations shall provide payment methods available to all members of the public to ensure secure, convenient, and equal access and shall not be limited by membership to a particular payment provider.
“(d) Network Capability.—An electric vehicle charging station funded under this title shall be capable of being remotely monitored.
“(e) Standards And Guidance.—Not less than 180 days after enactment of the INVEST in America Act, the Secretary of Transportation, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy and in consultation with relevant stakeholders, shall, as appropriate, develop standards and guidance applicable to any electric vehicle charging station funded in whole or in part under this title related to—
“(1) the installation, operation, or maintenance by qualified technicians of electric vehicle charging infrastructure;
“(2) the interoperability of electric vehicle charging infrastructure;
“(3) any traffic control device or on-premises sign acquired, installed, or operated related to an electric vehicle charging station funded under this title; and
“(4) network connectivity of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including measures to protect personal privacy and ensure cybersecurity.
“(f) Wage Requirements.—Section 113 shall apply to any project for electric vehicle charging infrastructure funded under this title.”.
(b) Clerical Amendment.—The analysis for chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 154 the following new item:
“155. Electric vehicle charging stations.”.
(c) Electric Vehicle Charging Signage.—The Secretary of Transportation shall update the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to—
(1) ensure uniformity in providing road users direction to electric charging stations that are open to the public; and
(2) allow the use of a comprehensive system of signs for electric vehicle charging providers to help drivers identify the type of charging and connector types available at the location.
(d) Agreements Relating To The Use And Access Of Rights-Of-Way Of The Interstate System.—Section 111 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(f) Interstate System Rights-Of-Way.—
“(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection (a) or (b) and sections 137 and 142, the Secretary shall permit, consistent with section 155, limited commercial activities for the charging of electric vehicles on rights-of-way of the Interstate System, including in—
“(A) a rest area; or
“(B) a fringe or corridor parking facility, including a park and ride facility.
“(2) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this subsection shall permit commercial activities on rights-of-way of the Interstate System, except as necessary for the charging of electric vehicles in accordance with this subsection.”
Do you want to install a Tesla wall connector at home? Contact David at Wieser Electric, Kingston’s only Tesla-authorised wall connector.
