AUTOMOTIVE //EVs
Demand for electric vehicles has intensified at local dealerships.
rEVved Up! No longer just for early adopters, electric vehicles offer speedy relief from the bloated price of gas— if you can find one. BY TOM MALONEY // PHOTOGRAPHY BY KAIDEN COLLVER
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HE PRO FESSIO NAL driving
instructor yelled, “Brake.” We were heading into turn one on the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal, me behind the wheel, the instructor in the passenger seat. The two lightweight electric motors powering the Jaguar I-PACE were making a sound best described as a hush. Without the guttural revving you would hear from an internal combustion engine (ICE), the lightning acceleration felt surreal. Were we really going that fast? “Brake!” the instructor shouted a few seconds later. I hit the brakes. The instructor gasped in relief. That experience demonstrated how electric vehicles, or EVs, have come such a long way in a relatively short period of time. Performance, range and some prices are improving year after year. For instance, Chevrolet introduced the Bolt in 2016 at a starting price of $42,795 ($49,966 in inflation-adjusted dollars). The 2022 version is $40,198 and range is extended by more than 20 percent, from 320 to 397 kilometres.
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SUMMER 2022 ON THE BAY
Consumers may question whether EVs are practical for Southern Georgian Bay, where many drivers commute long distances to the GTA and elsewhere.
Only early adopters owned an EV five years ago. Today there’s overwhelming demand from a wider consumer base, spiking this summer with the gasoline prices topping two dollars a litre. Ford was so overwhelmed by demand for the electric F-150 Lightning pickup, it shut down orders for the 2022 model. General Motors is promising longer range and lower costs with a new battery technology, Ultium, with the Silverado EV pickup and other vehicles destined for the market next year. Demand intensified such that it’s been nearly impossible to find an EV on local lots. Toyota has introduced its first battery electric vehicle (BEV), the bZ4X, but Collingwood sales manager David McArthur says it won’t go on sale in Ontario for a year and then, “We are not taking orders since we have no concrete expectation of delivery.” McArthur says customers have waited two years for delivery of the Rav4 Prime, the plug-in version of its most popular SUV which can operate both as an EV and a hybrid. Over at Blue Mountain Honda, general manager Dayn Kramp says the electric Honda Prologue SUV will debut for 2024: “Order dates have not been released, however mid-next year would be expected.” And so it goes. “There’s always been a strong interest in EVs in our area but certainly as fuel prices rise, interest in more economical means of transportation has risen as well,” Mike Merrifield, sales manager of Collingwood Nissan, said in May. “I’d estimate that over the
last few months, inquiries on EVs have at least doubled, maybe tripled.” While an issue declining in importance, a major difference between a gas-powered vehicle and an EV still comes down to two words: range anxiety. Consumers may question whether EVs are practical for Southern Georgian Bay, where many drivers commute long distances to the GTA and elsewhere. Those concerns may be allayed with the upper range of today’s EVs now around 500 kilometres. But that’s in the summer. In winter cold, the range can drop as much as 40 percent. Turning down the cabin heater can reduce this loss—but are you prepared to bundle up? “On the surface, the idea of an EV sounds appealing (but) once customers start the inquiry process and really think how this vehicle will be used in their life, it starts to become less attractive,” says Honda’s Kramp. “Range is becoming less of an issue though. The major speed bumps are charge time and availability of chargers.” McArthur of Toyota says people need to plan ahead but, “They obviously have figured it out. It’s a lifestyle.” As EVs use a battery rather than gasoline or diesel to transfer power to the motor, the battery must be recharged. With the fastest charger, a Level 3 such as at Tesla’s station at Keith Avenue in Collingwood, plugging in for 15 minutes will get you 320 kilometres of range. A Level 2 charger connects to a 240-volt outlet and returns about 150 kilometres of range in a few hours. Charging on a regular home outlet—
