The study shows only 47% of Canadians are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to consider an EV for their next car purchase
This proportion is 59% in the United States
The proportion varies between the provinces
A Recent Study by J.D. Power conducted in April and May of this year asked 3,701 Canadians how likely they are to consider an electric car for their next vehicle purchase and the findings show a marked difference with the United States.
According to the researchers, 53% of Canadians are either “Very unlikely” or “somewhat unlikely” to consider an EV, while this proportion is 41% in the US.
This difference is caused by many factors, chief among which are range anxiety and the purchase price of electric vehicles, which is still higher than comparable gasoline-powered vehicles.
65% of the respondents who are the least likely to consider an EV said the limited range between charges is a major detriment to electric vehicles and 44% of them specified that the range in cold weather is also concerning.
Since large parts of the US have a warmer climate than Canada, only 44% of the Americans unlikely to consider an EV mentioned range anxiety as one of the reasons why they won’t consider one.
In addition, more than 6 in 10 Canadians who are “very unlikely” or “somewhat unlikely” to buy an EV mentioned the price as the deciding factor. Interestingly, this proportion is also 44% among the Americans who chose the same two answers.
Obviously, in a country as large as Canada, the population is not homogenous and different trends can be observed between far-away regions.
For example, the study shows that British Columbia is the province where the most buyers are “Very likely” or “somewhat likely” to consider an EV, at 59% while the Atlantic provinces are where the interest is the lowest, with only 35% of car buyers choosing these two answers.
Unsurprisingly, provinces that offer incentives to EV buyers have the most residents who are likely to consider an electric car, hence why Quebec follows British Columbia at 50%. Ontario is not far behind, at 47% and the Prairies round out the lot at 38%.
The study also shows that a good way to get more people to consider electric vehicles is to get them to know these types of cars better since 42% of people who have driven an EV are likely to buy one, while only 15% of those who have never been a passenger in an EV are interested.
