CSA Online by Andrew Moore-Crispin A Deeper Look at Electric Vehicles In last issue’s column, we looked at electric vehicles (EVs) and their growing presence on North American roads, as well as some pros and cons of ditching fossil fuel-burning vehicles for electric. In this column, we’ll explore a little further and detail the various categories of EVs including battery, hybrid and a lesser-known fuel cell technology whose emissions are just warm air and pure water. If you missed the last issue or if you just skipped over this column (rude!), it’s available at csanews.com. Here’s a quick refresher: Electric or plug-in hybrid cars accounted for 5.2 per cent of those registered in Canada in 2021, according to Statistics Canada data. That’s up from 3.5 per cent the previous year. In the last three months of 2021, that number jumped to more than six per cent. There are no signs that the EV market is slowing down. To wit, Canada has announced its intent to phase out new sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) consumer vehicles entirely by 2035. Even in the EV category’s relative infancy, more Canadian car buyers are deciding that the upsides of EV outweigh the downsides. Better than half of Canadians are considering an EV for their next car purchase, according to J.D. Power Canada research quoted by the Globe and Mail. Toyota Rav4 Prime Pros of EV ▶Electricity is cheaper than gas (a battery EV costs about $300 per year according to Hydro Ottawa data) ▶Mechanically simpler and less costly to maintain ▶Zero (EV), inert (PHEV) or lower (hybrid, plug-in hybrid) tailpipe emissions ▶Possible tax incentives and access to HOV lanes Cons of EV ▶There are less charging locations than there are gas stations ▶Charging is slower than fuelling ▶Higher environmental impact up front (lower impact after about 22,000 km driven) Tesla Model 3 56 | www.snowbirds.org
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