B.C. tops Quebec and California as EV capital of North America

 From an article in the Times Colonist, a newspaper published in Victoria, British Columbia.

Just some excerpts:

British Columbians are opting to ditch their gasoline-powered cars for electric vehicles at a higher rate than anywhere in North America, according to a new report from the province. 

Electric and other zero-emission vehicles — such as plug-in hybrids and fuel-cell electric vehicles — made up 13 per cent of all new light-duty vehicle sales in B.C. last year, according to the 2021 Zero-Emission Vehicle Update released Friday. 

Mark Zacharias, a special adviser for the Simon Fraser University-based research group Clean Energy Canada, says that’s nearly double the sales seen in California and Quebec, North America’s second and third hottest jurisdictions for electric vehicle sales.  

In sheer volume of sales, California accounted for nearly half of all electric vehicle sales in the United States, whereas together, Quebec and B.C. made up 80 per cent of sales in Canada.

In B.C., the number of registered electric vehicles climbed to 80,000 from just under 56,000 a year earlier, a nearly 44 per cent increase in one year. [At that growth rate, sales will double every 2 years.] 

Zacharias says the numbers aren’t surprising. 

“In all instances and in all categories, electric vehicles are cheaper over a lifetime,” he said. 

The average EV owner in B.C. saves between $1,800 and $2,500 per year by ditching their gas-powered car, and even more over the long-term due to lower maintenance costs, according to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. 

Consider an analysis released earlier this week from Clean Energy Canada, which found a 2022 gas[petrol]-powered Toyota Corolla is 54 per cent more expensive over its lifetime compared to an electric Chevy Bolt. 

At just over $21,000 new, the Corolla is a little less than half the price of a new Bolt. But with half the cost of maintenance and only $8 to fully charge the Bolt in B.C., owners of the electric vehicle would save nearly $30,000 over the lifetime of the car, found the study.

Choose the electric Chevy over the gas-powered Toyota, and an owner driving 20,000 kilometres per year would also cut their annual carbon footprint by 3.3 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.

In another example, Clean Energy Canada found the electric Hyundai Kona, Canada’s second best-selling EV in 2021, is $15,000 cheaper to own over the lifetime of the vehicle than the gas-powered Kona. 

“If gas prices were to average $2, as we’ve seen in parts of Canada this past month, the electric Kona is $24,000 cheaper to own than the gas-powered Kona,” the report concluded.

[...]

Zacharias says manufacturing costs are coming down so fast that the sticker price of a new EV and gas-powered vehicle are expected to hit parity sometime between 2025 and 2030. 

Batteries are by far the most expensive part of an electric vehicle, and to bring their cost down means making them more efficient. Once batteries can put out a kilowatt-hour of energy for $100, electric vehicles will almost certainly hit parity, according to Bloomberg.

As University of British Columbia energy economics professor Werner Antweiler puts it: “The moment electric cars are cheaper than gasoline cars, it’s a no-brainer. We’re getting to that point.” 

But Zacharias says there have been some delays in those predictions.

Last year, average battery prices fell to $132/kWh, down from $140/kWh in 2020, according to BloombergNEF’s annual battery price survey. That represents a six per cent drop, and though substantial, is less than the nine per cent decline from the year before. 

The Bloomberg report says that is largely a result of supply chain shocks on raw materials like lithium, cobalt and nickel, key components used in electric vehicle batteries. 

[...]

[T]he number of Canadians considering an electric vehicle has reached a strong majority. 

As part of the Clean Energy Canada report this week, Abacus conducted a poll of Canadians asking how they felt about owning an electric car: 19 per cent said they loved the idea, 31 per said they were interested and 29 per cent said they are open to it.

Together, nearly 80 per cent said they would consider buying an electric vehicle as their next car.

[Read more here]



Since y'all know what EVs look like, here's a picture of Victoria, B C.

Victoria, British Columbia ―  Inner Harbour