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It doesn't look like the governments want EVs to replace ICE vehicles as they are today. The density in cities is already limited by parking and road space, and the infrastructure needed to charge all these new EVs isn't really being built.
Keeping EVs in the $60k+ range and the short life-cycle of these vehicles will ensure most people transition to public and active transport, leaving the roads to luxury consumers.
Tesla asked Canada to reduce tariffs on its EVs made in China, Reuters source says - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/tesla-canada-china-tariffs-1.7307635
i would love for my next car to be an EV
It doesn't need to have 1000km range, or edge to edge touch screens, or anything fancy
Give me something like a subaru impreza, with 300-400km range, and a sunroof.
The bolt ev and euv is an amazing car I love it and it fits your criteria.
The Bolt was discontinued after the 2023 model. But hey you can buy a new EV Chevy Equinox now starting at $55k >_>
I'm still tempted to do a diy conversion to get specifically what I want and nothing else. I have to get my money's worth out of my bike too though.
π stop π subsidizing π oil
$18B last year in government support for petrocorps.
American here. Does Canada have any domestic auto manufacturers?
Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, Fiat Chrysler have factories in Canada. I donβt know of any that truly Canadian companies though.
For now, they can barely keep them running in the GTA.
Ford, Stellantis, GM, Honda, Toyota: source (click "Made in Canada"). Both countries assemble many cars where parts are made in the US/Canada/Mexico (see: NAFTA/CUSMA aka USMCA)
edit: also for context, auto manufacturing is a big political football here in Ontario, with politicians always announcing funding and looking for photo ops around it because they're big employers in manufacturing
Have we as a country ever met a climate target? In fairness to our politicians (not really), the O&G industry regulates them and not the other way around. Until that power relation changes, our targets are just greenwashing
Sounds like Canada should put a 50% tax on gasoline powered vehicles.
Only if that tax subsidizes EVs.
I'd rather that tax subsidizes trains.
Good point, I like that better.
So, I drive an EV already but here's the rub with just taxing gas powered vehicles.
I still believe some people need (or should use) gas vehicles currently.
The first case is for people who have no access to a charger at their home (primarily condo dwellers, since home owners can easily install them) This should be regulated by the government, every condo should be required to upgrade their parking to include a certain percentage of chargers. We don't need more chargers at random places around the city like we have with gas stations, vehicles should always be charged wherever they happen to sit overnight.
I've had an EV for 3 years now, and I've never once needed a fast charger, I've never driven more than 400km in a single day so overnight level 2 charging is perfectly fine for me, I even used only the standard wall-socket level 1 charger for 4 months when I first got the car. It was do-able but a bit annoying.
The second case is for long distance drivers and/or towing, if you drive more than 2x your battery range in a day as a normal action then EVs just aren't yet sufficient for you. This is common if you need to tow heavy things, because the towing range on EVs is absolute shit so 2x that battery range isn't very far. A ford f150 lightning is fine for hauling your trailer around the suburbs for your yard maintenance business, but if you tow farm equipment a few hundred kilometers a day to different farms, it's not going to work with the current options.
Third, People who already have vehicles. When you replace it, go EV, don't bother until then. If you are a low distance driver, when you go to replace your vehicle, buy a used gas vehicle not a new one. EVs make more sense both financially and environmentally the more use they get.
These issues are all getting sorted out (slowly) but we aren't done with gas vehicles just yet so I'd rather see the taxes on the Gas than on the Vehicle itself.
As a condo owner with an EV, getting a charger installed was only marginally more difficult than if I was freehold. There are already laws in place that require condo boards to respond to charger installation requests and enter an agreement with the owner. I think getting more street parking chargers like they have all over Europe would be a good idea and installing charging bays in all new condo towers should be a requirement for the developer.
A big barrier to EV adoption is also education. I have been asked so many questions about my EV from my neighbours, friends, and families. The dealership wasnβt able to answer like 80% of my questions. I had to do a ton of learning online to understand the features of my car, how it works, how to charge it, when it operates well or poorly etc.
Street chargers would be good. If I recall those laws for requiring condo boards to respond are very recent, and a good start.
You're absolutely right about the lack of education though. I swear half the people I talk to think the only way to charge one is via an 800v fast charger, and the other half assume my range is about 100km in the winter.
I am waiting for the exponential increase in gas prices to start.
We have to pay for the carbon we're releasing, it is a market externality, it's going to cost us trillions of dollars. This is what government is for in a capitalist society.
Maybe don't put a 100% tarrif on affordable Chinese EVs then?
Hard disagree, we should be reducing our reliance on China, not increasing it.
Protecting domestic industries from competing with China does nothing to strengthen it.
If China was playing fair and being a good ally, I'd be okay with that. They aren't. Their companies regularly engage in everything from dumping to industrial espionage, not to mention the worker exploitation and abuse, and extending into the government interference both internally and externally.
Protecting ourselves from a single country still allows every other country to compete with us.
I agree, but we also need to lower our GHG emissions. Since we refuse to improve urban planning or transit, EVs are a step in the right direction.
Correct, but that doesn't mean we need the ones designed and manufactured in China. There are already other options designed and manufactured in better countries.
Perhaps, but since they're prohibitively expensive we aren't buying enough of them.
And the ones from China still cost less after the 100% tariff
And that isn't suspicious to you at all?
What's suspicious is western car companies refusing to make small cheap EVs that consumers might actually want to buy.
This is a huge factor. It isn't just the initial costs. A smaller EV is lighter, a simple EV is lighter, this lets it use less energy overall which ultimately means you pay less in electricity.
Smaller vehicles tend to have smaller tires, which are cheaper. Cheaper vehicles are also cheaper to insure than more expensive ones.
All these factors combined can easily be the difference between affording a new EV or having to stick in the used ICE market.
No, that's pretty much in line with America's oil first economy.
You can start by tossing all your electronics, then.
Do you understand what reduce means?
Some of your electronics, then.
Please go look up what reduce means in Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
You clearly missed that part of your primary education curriculum.
Use fewer of your electronics, then.
Well, Iβm never buying a Tesla and the same government is determined to withhold choice from us.
Withhold choice? Do you not realize that there are electric vehicles from literally every major brand available today?
I love my Kia Niro EV, going on three years and 80,000km now.
Not BYD
BYD is not a major brand, they aren't even top 10 in the world yet and 95% of their sales are in China.
Nissan sells more than they do, and it's the third largest Japanese car brand.
That's based on number of units, not revenue. They sell cheap cars in China to a billion and a half people, of course they move a lot of units. They had to redesign them to sell them outside of China because they don't meet western safety standards with their normal model.
BYD sold 242,759 vehicles outside China in 2023, according to data from BYD and Chinese Customs.
Nissan sold 3.4 million vehicles in 2023, only a million of which were in China.
BYD is not a major brand outside of China, and or even globally if you count by revenue.
The article literally states BYD outsold Nissan worldwide this year
Can you not read past a headline?
BYD outsold Nissan worldwide in number of units, but that includes BYD's China sales which make up almost all of it's sales.
If you eliminate sales in China, BYD sold only 242k vehicles globally, and Nissan sold around 2.4 million.
BYD is NOT a major brand outside of China.
That's like saying China Railway Group is a major international construction company because it's the worlds largest by revenue, despite essentially operating only in China.
Did anyone complain about wanting to buy a railway but there's not enough choice out there for the consumer?
Yes... It's quite common for companies to bid internationally for such projects. They tried and failed so badly they had to be replaced on a multi billion dollar European project a few years back.