While many have warmed up to electric vehicles over the past couple of years, a recent study found that 47 percent of Americans are unlikely to purchase an EV as their next ride. However, their neighbors to the north, in Canada, are even more skeptical about EVs – according to last year’s J.D. Power Canada Electric Vehicle Consideration (EVC) Study – which found that 53 percent of Canadian new car shoppers said they are either “very unlikely” or “somewhat unlikely” to consider an EV for their next vehicle purchase, even though most Canadian Ford dealers ultimately signed up for the automaker’s Model e Certified program. Now, the 2023 version of the Canadian EVC study has been released, and it’s pretty consistent with last year’s findings.
According to the 2023 J.D. Power Canada Electric Vehicle Consideration (EVC) Study, the number of new vehicle shoppers who said that they are either “very unlikely” or “somewhat unlikely” to consider electric vehicles for their next purchase actually increased to 66 percent. Meanwhile, overall EV consideration in Canada declined by 13 percentage points – from 47 percent in 2022 to 34 percent this year. In the U.S., 61 percent of consumers said they are either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to consider purchasing an EV this year.
As for why Canadian consumers are reluctant to make the switch to an EV, there are some very familiar concerns – limited driving distance was a problem for 63 percent of the 4,488 consumers polled for the study, followed by purchase price at 59 percent and charging infrastructure at 55 percent. Meanwhile, 55 percent of those polled said they have never been in – let alone driven – an EV.
“Despite current legislation that is pushing hard for EV adoption, consumers in Canada are still not sold on the idea of automotive electrification,” said J.D. Ney, director of the automotive practice at J.D. Power Canada. “Growing concerns about affordability and infrastructure (both from charging and electrical grid perspectives), have caused a significant decline in the number of consumers who see themselves in the market for an EV anytime soon. Despite a lower consideration rate year over year and a widening consideration gap to automobile shoppers in the U.S., there is still a committed group – 34 percent – of consumers in Canada who say they are likely to consider an EV in the next 24 months.”
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Comments
I think the lack of interest in Evs’ is far higher than the study says. The numbers will be skewed depending on where the studies are conducted.
Agreed. Most people don’t want an EV. For the people who do, great, but it should NOT be forced down our throats.
Lies, darned lies, and statistics….
There are things formerly forced on Canadians – probably due to insoucience, in the electricity arena that they should have strongly objected to. If I go into detail – everyone downvotes me so I’ll skip it, other than the final conclusion.
Ontario used to have HALF the electricity rates of the reasonable rates paid in Buffalo NY.
They are now MUCH HIGHER than what we pay here, and are likely to even get worse compared to Buffalo in the not distant future…. I would have complained.
Incidentally, for comparison – it was always the same company that ran both areas on both sides of the border, for the comparison I am referring to.. namely “Canadian Niagara Pwr Co.”.
And the windmills I see on my drives from Windsor to the GTA are downright ugly.
This puzzles me – Canadians say they don’t want EVs but then they to around and vote for a party that is pushing EVs hard, including by artificially driving gas prices through taxes.
Something ain’t right
Sounds like in USA or whatever the new Com party named this country.
People forget that Canada, like the US, is not a homogeneous country. An EV might be great if you live in a big city and never need to travel far from a charger – it might be great if you live on the east coast of the US and can drive through a half-dozen states in a day without worrying about stopping for fuel.
But Canada is BIG, the western US is BIG, and you may need to drive a long way to get to the next city, much less the next province or state. Our perception of how far we need to travel before refueling is driven (pardon the pun) by our needs, and our needs are different depending on where we live.
Canadians have had even more mandates foist on them than we have here in the U.S. EVs in Canada make practically no sense apart from the Windsor / Montreal corridor and perhaps Vancouver and Calgary. The population is too sparse to justify the charging infrastructure. Even so, winter temps reduce EV range by 40-50%, so unless you’re in or near a population center, it might not even be possible to get to the next charger during a road trip.
I’m all for EVs where they make sense. Except for a few limited areas, in Canada, they don’t.
I will never buy let alone consider an EV. I moved across Canada from Toronto to BC. Finding a gas station in the vast area of Northern Ontario or our western plains required planning and filling up whenever I had a chance. I would have had to ship an electric vehicle. I have several relatively new ICE cars and trucks which will cover my needs . As far as who we vote for it has little to do with electric cars. We have many more important issues to consider as do Americans. It’s usually a vote for the least disagreeable party .
A lot of ignorance here about EVs. I can drive from NY to California, or NY to Florida without an issue. Tesla fast chargers are easily accessible. No more high maintenance ICE cars for me. No oil changes, no gas, no tune-ups, and little maintenance. I have spent $140 in 18 months on my Tesla. Most will spend more than that on your first ICE service visit.
Wait till gas hits $2.00+ a litre. Then take the survey again.
That isn’tgoing to happen in the states, in Canada maybe, fuel taxesare abig part of it.
Well. Canada has a leader that quite literally said out loud that he “Admires China’s dictatorship.”
The first step in any socialist/communist take over is to limit people’s ability to move around freely. EV’s will do exactly that because of their cost and reduced range.
Meanwhile Big Sister (trying to be inclusive) is flying Jets and riding in limousines powered by dino fuel.