As electric vehicles (EVs) continue to see mainstream adoption increase around the world, one Canadian city is paving the way for the rest of the country with its high levels of EV adoption, according to a report just weeks following a major climate-change-induced heatwave – which experts say is a reason to make the switch as quickly and as widely as possible.
In 2020, 11 percent of new cars in the Vancouver Metro were accounted for by zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), while ZEVs made up just 2.4 percent of Toronto vehicles and 3.5 percent across Canada, according to the Vancouver Sun.
With Canada’s new gas car sales ban set for 2035, Special Advisor at Clean Energy Canada Mark Zacharias and Senior Sustainability Specialist for the City of Vancouver say that the rest of Canada needs to follow in Vancouver’s footsteps.
Electrify America to Double EV Chargers in USA, Canada by 2025 https://t.co/iIkPsOdeG5
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) July 13, 2021
Part of the equation leading to such levels of EV adoption in Vancouver – which some estimate is closer to 12 or 17 percent in Vancouver proper – is the $3,000 CAD British Columbia EV rebate, which can be added to the $5,000 CAD federal rebate offered by Canada’s government.
That works out to $8,000 CAD off the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, or an attractive $44,990 CAD (about $35,822 USD). The Model 3 and other Teslas in Vancouver are as common as Honda Civics–they’re everywhere.
The rebates come in addition to the bolstering of the charging network by the municipal government, as well as legislation requiring cleaner emissions and increased sale of EVs; the three of which work together to create an environment where buyers want to purchase EVs.
