Automotive News Canada - May 2022 - 9

* MAY 2022
9
Dealers charge
into EV future, now
Adding high-speed
chargers is a top priority,
as is staff training, to cope
with change that's already
taking place in the market
By KELLY TAYLOR
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA
DON'T TELL NANAIMO, B.C., DEALER
principal Dave Bare that the 2035 federal
deadline for selling 100 per cent zero-emissions
vehicles is too far down the road to
bother with. Harris Kia is installing EV
charging stations now.
When asked about his top priorities,
whether providing charging for customers
who have none, charging up a demo fleet
or being able to return a car fully charged
after service, Bare doesn't hesitate.
" All of the above. "
As the automotive industry moves away
from internal combustion, Canadian dealers
and their automakers are gearing up,
installing chargers, and preparing technicians
for servicing EVs.
For Bare, the future is now, especially
on Vancouver Island where there's a " treTrim:
10.875 " x 7.375 "
Bleed: 11.125 " x 7.625 "
Safety: 10.25 " x 7 "
mendous " amount of interest in electric
vehicles. He currently has five chargers,
and two are coming.
Scotiabank Lighthouse, 100 Yonge St., 5th
File: 2213350 - CBB - AutoxSWI Print ad
Dealer Dave
Bare says he
already has
five chargers
at his Kia
store, citing a
" tremendous "
amount of
consumer
interest.
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
Colours: CMYK
" In fairness, we live in the perfect environment
for electric vehicles.
We're not too hot,
not too cold, " he said.
British Columbia is
ahead of the curve with
the highest EV-adoption
rates in the country. In
2021, zero-emission vehicles
(ZEVs) accounted for
13 per cent of all light-duty
vehicle sales in the
province, according to
statistics compiled by
IHS Markit. That compares
with 5.6 per cent
across Canada and 9.5
per cent for second-place
Quebec.
Floor, Toronto ON, M5C 2W1
A contributing factor
to B.C.'s lead is that
the provincial government
implemented its
own stepped sales mandates in 2019: 10 per
cent of light-duty vehicle sales by 2025, 30
per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2040.
Another factor is the provincial rebate of
up to $3,000 per battery-electric vehicle.
Level 3 chargers cost about $68,000, said Marsim Auto Group's Rick Blacker,
and Level 2 cost about $35,000. Installation is extra. PHOTO: PLUG 'N DRIVE
Bare is wasting little time. Two of the
five chargers - all 240-volt Level 2 units -
are in the guest parking area and are powered
around the clock. EV drivers
are welcome to pop in for a
free charge.
Another charger is located
in the service drive-thru to
charge the electric customer
shuttle, and two are in the service
department.
BEST PRACTICES
The two on the way will be added to the
parking lot, bringing that total to four. One
is what Bare calls a " Level 2.5, " which Kia
Canada says charges four times faster than
a Level 2 unit.
Workfront#: 2213350
In Market: March 23, 2022
Deadline: March 21, 2022
Designer: Fabio Prod:
GROWTH IS DRIVING CHANGE
Installing charging stations also is priority
at the under-construction Toronto
Hyundai and Genesis Yorkdale dealerSPOTLIGHT
ship
combination, owned by Marsim Auto
Group, which has three dealerships in the
Greater Toronto Area. And the number of
chargers keeps rising.
" When we [began the project]
two years ago, it might
have been maybe a total of
five charging stations, " said
Marsim Vice-President Rick
Blacker.
" And now . . . I think I'm up to 15 right
now and I'm roughed in for 25, so yeah, it
has totally changed. "
By the time Toronto Hyundai and
Genesis Yorkdale opens in December of
2023, " we're going to have two or three,
possibly four Genesis electric vehicles and
we're going to have a handful of Hyundai
vehicles.
SEE TRAINING PAGE 22
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Automotive News Canada - May 2022

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