How far can you go with EVs in Canada? A closer look at range, battery life
How far can you go with EVs in Canada? A closer look at range, battery life
While 'range anxiety' used to be a factor in purchasing an electric vehicle years ago, consumers have less to worry about when it comes to how far their EV can go, experts say.
While 'range anxiety' used to be a factor in purchasing an electric vehicle years ago, consumers have less to worry about when it comes to how far their EV can go, experts say.
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“Range has improved,” said Mark Marmer, the owner and founder of energy consultant Signature Electric. “Now most cars and trucks have at least about a 300- to 350-kilometre range, which is a reasonably comfortable thing.”
When on a longer trip, a charge to give an extra 150 kilometres or so will take about 15 to 20 minutes, but that also depends on the speed of the charger, according to Marmer.
Unfortunately, that's a pretty hard sell when your work day requires more mileage than that, and you want to get home asap.
I'd argue that people who travel 300-350km / day are outliers. For those people, maybe an EV isn't an option yet.
Since I got an EV I've realized that a lot of people greatly overestimate how far they drive.
Oh, they're absolutely outliers.
But I'm one of them, so it's in my mind. And there are still plenty of people in rural settings for whom it'll be a concern.
Yes, those people will largely be in gas vehicles through the transition, then in hybrids. This is why the transition plans in Canada gives half credit to dealerships for hybrids, and don't outlaw existing full Ice vehicles.
What percentage of people realistically drive more than 300km per day? We're talking 2.5-3h on the road per day, not taking traffic into account. Extrapolating 300km per day, over 49 weeks a year, 5 days a week, that's just shy of 74000km. Who drives that, outside people whose job it is to drive stuff lol?
It doesn't have to be "per day" - it needs to be often enough that they'll be deterred from getting an EV.
Look, I'm pro-EV, but I think it's important to acknowledge that in a country as big as this one, there are going to be people with justified "range anxiety."
Actually, not only does it not have to be "per day", it may only have to be once, depending on the situation.
I live in a location where certain types of medical services are ~400km away minimum. The thing that bit me on the ass was needing emergency care for a torn retina. In March, in very bad weather, at the height of the pandemic. That was a five-hour drive during which taking 20 minutes out to charge an EV would not have been a good idea (assuming a charging station was available—not guaranteed in that area). I would not want an EV as my only vehicle unless the range improves considerably, even though I don't normally exceed 50km/day.
Sure. It is not what the comment I was responding to was referring to.
I just made a 2,500 mile road trip in the USA. It’s not bad at all. I’ve done it twice now. There are chargers everywhere (for Tesla) and it just works. If you’re in Canada, there’s chargers all along the 1. But you can’t go much north of there without using third party chargers.
Some people in healthcare do that, visiting people in their homes and hospitals.
Yes, some people do it. What proportion, realistically?