fwiw, I think some (but perhaps not all) of these conditions exist in large portions of the North American continent. At least, near where I live, the dealers still do not sell plug-in vehicles. Yes, a few Teslas and such are popping up (though very slowly) and you can go 70 miles away to go to a Chevy dealer or the like for a BEV or PHEV, but it's not very close by, and there is almost no public charge infrastructure.
On Thu, 1 Aug 2019 12:12:22 -0500 (CDT), brucedp5 via EV <[email protected]> you wrote: > >https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ev-sales-alberta-falls-behind-1.5230776 >Want to buy an EV? Slow down there, we're in Alberta >Aug 01, 2019 Sarah Lawrynuik > >[image >https://i.cbc.ca/1.5231077.1564527248!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/tesla-model-x.jpg >A Tesla Model X parked on Lake Minnewanka near Banff, Alta. (Adam >Eustace/Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta) >] > >Legislation in other provinces is ensuring electric sales in Alberta arent >a priority > >If you are one of the few Albertans itching to join the electric vehicle (or >plug-in hybrid) club, you will find an altogether different car buying >experience from what you've been used to before. > >At some dealerships you'll find salespeople climbing into the car with you >for a test drive with the car's manual in hand because they've never been >in one of these cars either. At another, you'll be told you can't test drive >their EV models because the manufacturer isn't sending any to Alberta. You >can still buy it, but it will have to be sight unseen and the wait for it >to arrive could be well into 2020. > >If you're in the market for an EV, you might be inclined to visit a Kia >dealership to check out the Niro EV or the Soul EV, since they are two of >the most moderately priced, mid-sized EVs on the market. But that will only >lead you to learn that Kia is not currently selling any electric models in >Alberta, nor are they offering service for EVs if you actually go through >the effort to buy one of their cars out of province. > >As an explanation for this strategic decision, Kia Canada communications >manager Mark James said that as supply of vehicles grows, the company will >be expanding into new markets, but for now, Alberta isn't a priority. > >"Right now we focus the limited availability of product on those markets >that not only offer incentives to consumers but also offer the required >infrastructure to support the vehicles," James said in an email. > >All of this begs the question: How has Alberta fallen so far behind? > >Incentives, quotas and petro pride > >In the first quarter of 2019, the total number of electric vehicles on the >road in Canada cracked 100,000. The number in this province is just over >2,200. > >[image] Approx. total Canadian EV ownership by province > >Alberta does not have any government incentives in place to encourage the >move to EVs or plug-in hybrids (PHEVs). This stands in contrast to Quebec, >which offers up to $8,000; and B.C., where rebate incentives can hit $3,000. > >Ontario used to offer up to $14,000, but that was scrapped by the Ford >government after it was elected in 2018. > >So, despite the federal [.ca] government offering incentives of up to $5,000 >from coast to coast, the rebate opportunities are not equal across >provinces. > >[image] EV sales by province > >There are a handful of reasons beyond Alberta's lack of a rebate program >that have caused the lag in sales here. The first thing that might come to >mind is the Alberta pride in the oil and gas industry; the rise of >petro-patriotism, as coined by Maclean's. > >"There's a mentality here that somewhat naturally opposes EV ownership >because they're perceived whether true or not as a threat to the oil and >gas industry because oil is used for transportation fuels and the EVs don't >use that," said William York, a director for the Electric Vehicle >Association of Alberta. > >York said another hurdle presents itself in the fact that Alberta is truck >and SUV country, and so far what is available in those categories of vehicle >isn't pushing people to buy electric yet. > >That could change if companies like Ford keep putting out ads like the one >they released earlier this month, bragging about their F-150 all-electric >prototype truck being able to pull over a million pounds. Or companies like >GM keep making commitments to make their entire fleet electric. > >Ford unveiled its electric F-150 prototype in a commercial released in July. >(Ford/YouTube) > >But the biggest reason for other provinces surging ahead in the EV market is >the implementation of quota regulations. > > Don Pittis: Zero-emission rules mean fewer electric car choices for most >Canadians > >"There's no incentive for car makers to bring vehicles to Alberta," >explained Matthew Klippenstein, a Burnaby-based engineer and the EV advisor >for the not-for-profit Plug-In B.C. > >To understand what Klippenstein means by that, you first have to know that >most car manufacturers are losing money every time they sell an electric >model. > >"Now that sounds terrible, and it kind of is terrible if you're a car >maker," Klippenstein said. "But it is the norm in that sector where if you >make a big change, your company will generally tolerate losses in the >belief that over time they can make money on the product." > >So while companies are selling this product at a loss, B.C. and Quebec have >introduced policies that have put them ahead of other provinces on >manufacturers' priority lists, called a zero-emission vehicle standard, or >"ZEV mandate." > >In B.C. legislation was passed this spring which would require car makers to >hit a 10 per cent electric target by 2025, 30 per cent by 2030 and 100 per >cent by 2040. Similar rules are found in Quebec and manufacturers who don't >meet the targets have to pay penalties. > >Klippenstein says because these provinces have introduced this type of >legislation, other provinces will either have to adopt a similar approach, a >federal plan will need to be implemented, or the policy-have-not provinces >will only be getting the leftovers. > > Sold out: Report finds most B.C. dealerships don't have any electric >vehicles > >But even then, supply shortages of vehicles is an ongoing problem. >Electric vehicles aren't top of mind to dealership owners, association >president says > >Electric sales more than doubled from 2017 to 2018 in Alberta, and in Canada >as a whole too. But those numbers are still tiny when compared to the sale >of gas-powered cars. > >"Still to date this year till the end of May there was a little over >92,000 new vehicles that have been sold in Alberta," said president of the >Motor Dealers Association of Alberta, Denis Ducharme. > >So that's 92,000 gas-powered vehicles sold in five months in Alberta, versus >2,200 EVs sold ever in the province. > >[image] Denis Ducharme is the president of the Motor Dealers' Association >of Alberta and has worked in the industry for more than three decades. >(Motor Dealers' Association of Alberta) > >So Ducharme says EVs don't make the top of the list of concerns he hears >from dealership owners. Politics and the economy are what he hear about, >especially since vehicle sales have hit a bit of a slump as of late. > >Recently, the national association looked at the biggest shakeups coming to >the industry, and again, Ducharme says EVs didn't near the top of the list. > >"They predict that over the next decade the world's global automakers will >undergo a structural transformation not seen since the beginning of the 20th >century," he said. But the primary factor in those changes will be where >cars are being made. "It'll probably be a lot of new vehicle models that'll >be entering from places like China, India and Europe." > >Ducharme says blame for low EV sales is improperly placed at the feet of >dealerships, the pressure is on manufacturers to supply enough cars and >spread them out across the provinces. > >"There is a sizeable investment that goes into selling electric vehicles," >Ducharme said, from training in sales to service and so on. "But whatever >the manufacturer is going to provide you, you're going to sell. > >"We often get criticized for [this idea] that the dealers don't even try to >sell electric vehicles. Well if [dealers are] willing to put in that kind of >investment, those who are saying that are misinformed because as they get >them, they're going to sell." > >Those with faith in the electric future > >Despite the challenges to buying electric in Alberta, those who believe in >the technology are finding ways around the obstacles. > >"We actually help each other out," said York, with the Electric Vehicle >Association of Alberta. > >A few weeks ago, York had a co-worker who wanted to test drive a particular >vehicle but none of the dealerships she'd asked had one available. York >outsourced the problem on the EV community forums and they managed to find >the single dealership in Edmonton that had one available. > >[image] William York says the EV community in Alberta finds ways for people >who want to test drive models of cars that aren't available from dealerships >including lending out personal vehicles for the cause. (Corrina Walker >Photography) > >"And even the community is very generous and willing to offer up their own >vehicles for events for the public to see that on an even private ride," >York said, including himself in that community as he estimates he's used his >own car for about 100 test rides. > >York has a serious passion for EVs because as an engineer he says he finds >endless joy in seeing the efficiencies in advancing technologies. > >"It is also about the gadgets and technology for me," York said. "I was one >of the first people that I knew to buy an MP3 player. It was a Rio 500 with >96 megabytes of storage and cost me $400. I was 13 years old. I've never >been shy to be on the bleeding edge." > >But York and the EV association recognizes climate change and a push to >lower emissions is a big motivator for many looking to buy electric, and in >Alberta there is some confusion over whether it is an effective thing to do >since so much of the province's electricity comes from coal. > >And the good news is, they've made an app to prove it is. > >Their web app takes the real time data from Alberta's energy producers so >you know the emissions generated by the electricity powering an EV and >then it compares different models of EVs alongside different gas-powered >vehicles to show the difference in emissions. > >"(It) proves that it is it is actually cleaner to drive an EV on Alberta's >'dirty grid.' And we've shown this tool to a lot of people that have come to >our events or our trade show," York said. > >[image] A screenshot of the app created by the Electric Vehicle Association >of Alberta to compare EV and gas-powered car emissions, using real-time data >from Albertas electricity producers. (Electric Vehicle Association of >Alberta) >Resale and servicing > >[image] Jim Steil is an electrical engineer by training and the co-owner of >Go Electric, a company selling used EVs and hybrids in Calgary. He's quite >frank in voicing his opinion that anyone who doesn't believe electric is the >future of driving is delusional. > >He too has heard of the problems people have in trying to buy electric in >Alberta. > >"There's almost no electric vehicles available for sale," Steil said. > >"And I wouldn't quite say it's a willful ignorance, but ambivalence perhaps >would be a better word toward selling them, promoting them, learning about >them and providing them." > >Steil and his business partner sell used electric cars, but with so few EVs >on the road here, the resale market is almost nonexistent. So that means the >company has to import vehicles from California primarily. It offers the >opportunity to go electric for those who can't afford the price of new EVs. >Jim Steil was trained as an electrical engineer before he decided to dive >into the EV market. (Sarah Lawrynuik/CBC) > >One of the biggest perks with EVs that people tend not to know about, is how >little maintenance they require, Steil explained. Steils says he thinks >dealerships won't be pushing for more EV sales for this reason unless >there's a legislated requirement to. > >"If I owned a dealership I would be quite afraid of what is inevitable and >which is the replacement of gas vehicles by electric vehicles on their lots, >because all of those service bays are gonna be empty," Steil said in an >interview with CBC News. > >But Ducharme from the Motor Vehicles Association disagrees, saying "there'll >still always be a need for servicing." >The Tesla exception > >Tesla has fewer than a dozen brick-and-mortar stores in Canada and >paradoxically it is one of the few EV companies that's prioritized sales in >Alberta, putting the only Tesla location outside of B.C., Quebec and >Ontario, right here in Calgary. > >The Model 3 was the number one selling electric model in Canada in the first >quarter of 2019 and that seems unlikely to change given that it's been >included in the federal incentive program, after originally being excluded. > >To York, the cars are sleek, sure, but where the other brands really need to >catch up to Tesla is in salesmanship. With the new technology and new >experiences, salespeople need to be able to answer more questions on a topic >that remains largely foreign to them. > >"There's all these good resources like PlugShare and independent research >that's been put together by Nissan Leaf owners on battery degradation and >Tesla owners on battery degradation that the dealership employees really >need to be aware of in order to land a sale. And I think that's just lacking >here in Alberta." > >The mish-mash of policies regarding EVs across Canada is causing clear >"distortions" in the market, says Brendan Frank, a research associate with >Canada's Ecofiscal Commision. > >"The federal government has rolled out a series of policies, and I don't >think it's for us to say what the right balance is," Frank said. "It would >help if the provinces spoke to each other a little bit more on on this >issue." > >Neither EV enthusiasts nor car market experts foresee significant changes in >Alberta any time soon, so without some form of change, it seems likely >Alberta's EV market will be left further in the dust. >[© cbc.ca] > > >+ >https://www.insauga.com/something-new-is-coming-to-pearson-airport-in-mississauga >Something New is Coming to Pearson Airport in >Mississauga >August 1, 2019 Reducing pollution from transportation is essential, said >McKenna. Investing in electric vehicles is a practical and effective way >for Canada to reduce pollution ... >https://www.insauga.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/lead-image-full/article/2019/07/pearson_2.jpg > > > > >For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: > http://evdl.org/archive/ > > >{brucedp.neocities.org} _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
