Canadian EV owners’ biggest challenge is a lack of convenient and reliable public charging options. This is according to a Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) survey of 16,000 EV drivers across the country.
"Our survey paints a picture of people happy they bought an EV, saying they are cheaper to operate and easier to maintain than their previous gas-powered vehicles," Ian Jack, CAA National’s vice-president of public affairs, said in a statement.
"But it also found the experience of EV owners mirrors some of what the general public thinks – public charging isn’t good enough, especially outside major urban centres, and they are concerned about being caught with a dead battery in the winter."
At the same time, the overwhelming majority (87%) said they would make their next purchase an EV.
Canadian EV driver experiences
More than 90% of EV owners said the cost of fueling their EV is much lower, and 79% said the cost of maintenance is much better than their previous gas-powered vehicles.
Despite the issues with public charging, EV owners also told CAA that the vast majority of their charging is done at home. In fact, respondents reported that most of their travel was within 100 km of their home, a distance significantly less than the average range of an EV, which is over 400 km.
CAA will be conducting an EV winter test from Ottawa to Mont Tremblant in February to measure their range in cold weather and how effectively they charge.
Polling the general populace
In a separate recent survey of the general population, including non-EV owners, CAA found more than half (52%) of Canadians said they won’t purchase an EV because public charging is not reliable enough, and more than two-thirds (68%) said they won’t purchase an EV because the driving range of an EV drops too much when driving in cold weather.
These findings were based on a poll of 2,880 Canadians carried out from September 13 to 21, 2024.
Survey methodology
For this report, PlugShare Research, a custom survey research company for the EV industry, surveyed their panel of Canadian EV drivers, as well as Canadian PlugShare app users, from October 3 to 22, 2024. A total of 16,041 EV drivers responded across all provinces.
This article Lack of fast and reliable charging is the top issue for Canadian EV owners
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
