Clean Energy Canada Issues its Report on EV Adoption in BC

It seems that when it comes to electric cars, British Columbia New Car showrooms remain empty.

Clean Energy Canada, a climate and clean energy think tank affiliated with Simon Fraser University, has just released a report on EV availability in BC entitled “Batteries Not Included”. And it reveals that during the past Summer only 40% of British Columbia’s 322 new car dealerships had EVs available for purchase and most had waiting lists for electric cars that would take from three to eighteen months to fulfill.

Perhaps more troubling is that literally 1/3 of New Car Dealers were unaware of the provincial rebate program and only 28% knew that their customers were also eligible for the household charger rebate.

The report also states that EVs represented 6.2% of new car sales in California in the first half of 2018 compared to just 3.5% in B.C.

However, glaringly missing were numbers on sales and vehicle availability from Used EV dealerships, who all have multiple vehicles on hand, as well as the vast increase in BC residents tired of waiting for a Canadian dealership to stop dragging its feet and crossing the border to self-import.

Nor is there an explanation for the reality that while the long wait times for Tesla vehicles (primarily the Model 3) was an issue during the Summer months, Tesla wait times are now plummeting, with most models available mere weeks after customers make a non-dealership on-line purchase.

Meanwhile, one in three British Columbians still expect their next car will be an EV, according to data from BC Hydro.

Perhaps its time for BC’s Provincial government to enact a zero-emission mandate to further encourage new car dealers and their brand manufacturers to finally give the people of this province wider access to the kind of vehicles they clearly want to buy.

You can download a copy of the Clean Energy Canada Report here.