EV sales could see caution flag with pause on rebate program

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on January 23, 2025.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

A survey of Alberta electric vehicle owners shows 87 per cent are likely to replace their present model with another one.
Alberta respondents were included in an online survey of 16,041 Canadian EV owners by the Canadian Automobile Association and PlugShare Research last October.
But EV sales could hit a roadblock with the recently announced pause by the federal government on is Zero Emissions Vehicle fund rebate program.
Ottawa has announced that its iZEV funds have been fully committed. Prior to that pause up to $5,000 was available at the point of sale to individuals and businesses for the purchase or lease of light-duty zero emissions vehicles such as cars, sport utility vehicles and light pickup trucks.
Up to $200,000 was available at point of sale to Canadian businesses and organizations for the purchase or lease of medium and heavy-duty ZEVs such as cargo vans, shuttles, trucks and other commercial vehicles.
While some provinces still offer rebates to EV buyers, Alberta doesn’t.
According to the Alberta Motor Association, the study of 1,100 EV owners shows while they would be willing to buy another, they have concerns with charging options.
“An increasing number of Albertans are choosing EVs, and the vast majority of them say they won’t be switching back to gas-powered options,” says Jane Flower, Vice-President of Corporate Purpose at AMA in news release.
“Any new technology has its growing pains, but the lower fuel and maintenance costs, along with the convenience of at-home charging, often outweighs any challenges with public charging.”
Survey highlights show only 53 per cent of the province’s EV owners are satisfied with their overall experience at direct current fast-charging stations in Alberta. And only 47 per cent are completely satisfied with public Level 2 charging systems.
Among the main reasons for the lack of satisfaction with DC fast-charging and Level 2 charging is the number of charging locations as well as cost, ease of finding charging options and reliability.
Almost 15,000 electric vehicles were registered in Alberta last year which the AMA says is a 150 per cent increase from two years ago and that number is increasing.
The survey also showed:
• 11 per cent said the need to wait in line at public charging locations had been a
moderate or serious problem.
• 20 per cent said they experienced a moderate or serious problem with slower
charging in extreme cold weather.
• 37 per cent said they experienced a moderate or serious problem with lower battery
range in extreme cold weather.
• 92 per cent said the cost of EV maintenance is better than their previous gas-powered
vehicles.
• 96 per cent said the cost of powering their EV is much lower.
While the federal government has mandated all new vehicles to be sold in Canada in 2035 to be zero emissions, not everyone is jumping onto the electric bandwagon. In 2023 roughly nine out of 10 new vehicle buyers were sticking with internal combustion rather than going the plug-in route.
In the first nine months of 2023, though, 132,783 new battery-electrics or plug-in hybrids were registered in Canada — for a total of 10.3 per cent of all new vehicle registrations. For 2024, the number of EV units expected to be sold was up to 139,000 units.
In early 2024, Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction, said in an interview recently that electric vehicles are not a realistic alternative to gasoline and diesel-powered cars and trucks in Alberta.
Gerald Wood, president of the Alberta Motor Dealers Association, was out of the country and unable to comment on the impact of the rebate pause.
In an interview last year, however, Wood said the government’s plan to have all vehicles sold in Canada by 2035 to be ZEVs has roadblocks.
Among those is what Wood called a tight timeline and range anxiety which can be impacted by the effect of cold weather on batteries with EVs losing between 25 and 30 per cent of their battery’s charge. This, he noted, is problematic in Alberta where many people drive the same distances in colder weather than they do in warmer conditions.
Wood also said the amount of charging infrastructure is a concern.

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