Unless policies or technologies change, the cost of electric vehicles (EVs) needs to decrease by 31 per cent if Canada to wants to reach its sales target of 60 per cent EVs by 2030, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer.

Unless policies or technologies change, the ownership cost of electric vehicles (EVs) needs to decrease by 31 per cent if Canada to wants to reach its sales target of 60 per cent EVs by 2030, according to a new report released Thursday by Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux.

Last December, the federal government unveiled its Electric Vehicle Availability Standard that outlined zero-emission vehicle sales targets for automakers. The standard requires all new light-duty sales in Canada to be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035. There are also interim targets of at least 20 per cent of all sales being EVs by 2026 and 60 per cent by 2030.

Those federal government targets come as growth forecasts for auto companies have plateaued and concerns about charging infrastructure persist. The price of EVs has also pushed the cars out of reach for many consumers. According to the Canadian Black Book, the average cost of an EV was $73,000 in 2023.

  • @OderusEnglish
    -2•18 days ago

    The first case is for people who have no access to a charger at their home (primarily condo dwellers, since home owners can easily install them) This should be regulated by the government, every condo should be required to upgrade their parking to include a certain percentage of chargers. We don’t need more chargers at random places around the city like we have with gas stations, vehicles should always be charged wherever they happen to sit overnight.

    Do ICE vehicles owners have a gas station at their house? Why are EV’s an issue for this but not ICE vehicles? As long as you’re near some form of fast charger, you don’t need a Level 2 charger at home, though it would be nice.

    • @[email protected]English
      4•18 days ago

      This is a common misconception. Fast chargers are EXPENSIVE. Even the BC hydro owned fast chargers are 35 cents per kwh for level 3 charging, compared to the 10 cents I pay at home with my time of use rate. Private chargers are even more expensive, sometimes as much as $1 per kwh.

      It does not make financial sense to use fast chargers as a primary way to charge your EV, they are really only meant to be used for long distance travel where you’re driving 500km+ in a day.

      It makes sense that they cost more too, the chargers themselves, the land they use up, and the extra electrical infrastructure to bring in the huge amounts of power they use them all cost money. Just for comparison, a 200 amp house gets around 24kwh of potential throughput, while the latest fast chargers can each draw 350kwh.

      It’s far easier to just have a spot you can pull into once a week at your condo, and plug it in, then drive off the next morning with a full battery having paid only $6 for another 450km of range.

    • @[email protected]
      2•18 days ago

      The other two posters are 100% right, but I’ll also chime in and say that fast charging all the time is bad for long-term battery health, too.

      Not to mention it’s WAY more convenient to just plug your car in when you get home. I remember living in an apartment with no chargers and having to wait for one of the two fast chargers nearby… I’d end up either having to carve out 30 minutes late at night to run out and sneak a charge in, or take a peek out my window every 15 mins to see if one had freed up.

      Using fast chargers as Plan A is not a good plan or reasonable expectation.