Automotive News Canada - June 2024 - 14

14
* JUNE 2024
EV adoption rises but a range of anxieties remains
J.D. Power survey
finds that Canadians
are less energized
about making the
switch to EVs,
although rebate
claims show
increased uptake
By DAVID KENNEDY
TORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
CANADIAN CONSUMERS
continue to cool their enthusiasm
for electric vehicles, according
to a new study of buying
intentions from J.D. Power,
despite EV adoption reaching
new heights so far in 2024.
Only a little over a quarter of
new-vehicle shoppers in Canada
said they would consider an EV
for their next purchase, according
to the study, released May 30.
Of those surveyed, just 10.9 per
cent said they are " very likely "
to consider an EV and 17.6 per
cent " somewhat likely. "
By contrast, 52 per cent of prospective
buyers said they are
" very unlikely " to consider an
EV, and 19.6 per cent are " somewhat
unlikely. "
The survey includes responses
from nearly 3,000 consumers
polled in March and April.
Canadian shoppers' openness
to EVs has eroded considerably
over the past two years. The 28.5
per cent of current buyers likely
to consider an EV compares
with 34 per cent who said last
year they would look at one. In
J.D. Power's inaugural Canada
Electric Vehicle Consideration
Study in 2022, 47 per cent of
respondents said they would
include EVs among their new-vehicle
prospects.
COST CONSIDERATIONS
Range anxiety - the concern
of finding a charging station
when battery charge runs low -
is one of the main sticking points
ZEVs accounted for 10.8 per cent
of total registrations, the first
year that adoption rates have
eclipsed the one-in-10 mark.
Federal rebate claims, meanwhile,
indicate buyers are continuing
to snap up EVs in high
numbers.
Although ZEV adoption rates continue to climb, many Canadians
are still hesitant to convert because of concerns about charging
infrastructure, said J.D. Power. PHOTO: GREG LAYSON
cited by skeptics this year, along
with limited charging infrastructure
and vehicle costs.
Ney: Consumer education can
help address barriers such
as vehicle range and a lack of
experience with EVs.
PHOTO: LINKEDIN
Automakers " are staking their
futures on EVs and investing
massive sums in battery manufacturing
facilities in Canada,
but the reality is that they are
still considerably more expensive
than comparable gas-powered
vehicles, " J.D. Ney, director
of J.D. Power's Canadian automotive
practice, said in a release.
" While tackling the affordability
problem is going to take
some time, the other big obstacles
right now - vehicle range
and lack of experience with EVs
- can be mitigated by broad consumer
education. "
The study found that a little
more than half of Canadian conS:10.875 "
T:10.875 "
B:11.125 "
sumers
have never been in an
EV, let alone owned one, and
that they are also far more closed
off to EVs than consumers in the
United States. J.D. Power found
that 58 per cent of U.S. car buyers
are very likely or somewhat
likely to consider an EV.
ZEV SALES CONTINUE TO CLIMB
Conversely, the pushback
against EVs among most car
buyers in Canada comes as
zero-emission-vehicle adoption
hits fresh highs.
Battery-electric and plugin
hybrid vehicles made up 12
per cent of vehicle registrations
across Canada in the fourth
quarter of 2023, the latest period
for which data is available from
Statistics Canada. For all of 2023,
Over the first three months
of 2024, rebate requests for battery-electric
and plug-in hybrid
vehicles eligible for the federal
Incentives for Zero-Emission
Vehicles (iZEV) program totalled
41,101. That's up 135 per cent
from the 17,513 iZEV claims for
the same three months a year
earlier, according to data from
Transport Canada. - ANC
SURVEY FINDINGS
The likelihood that Canadian
new-vehicle buyers would
consider an EV for their next
purchase:
* Very likely: 10.9%
* Somewhat likely: 17.6%
* Somewhat unlikely: 19.6%
* Very unlikely: 52%
Source: 2024 J.D. Power Canada Electric
Vehicle Consideration Study
How many dealers does it take
to start a movement?
Kia Harold Auto
Automobiles du Blvd Kia
Kia Repentigny
Kia Grenville
Bank Street Kia
Kia Granby
Kia Brampton
Cardinal Kia
Scarboro Kia
Kia de Sherbrooke
O'Regan's Kia Dartmouth
Kia Canada thanks the 11 original dealers who have been with us from the start. Your leadership and inspiration keep us and Canada moving.
We couldn't have made it happen without you.

Automotive News Canada - June 2024

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