Shifting gears: with EV sales slowing, collaboration and refocusing on infrastructure will be key to successfully supporting a zero-emissions future.

The cavalry charge

Unfavourable economic conditions combined with traditional detractors — like charging and range anxiety, and upfront affordability — as contributing factors topping this year’s index. These are in addition to new concerns that come with new challenges to overcome, like maintenance and battery replacement costs, which bubbled up in recent years as older electric vehicles and charging technologies begin showing signs of wear. 

According to the index, charging infrastructure continues to be the primary detractor to market entry. More than half of respondents shared that installation costs of at-home charging units (57%) and electrical costs (54%) topped their list of concerns, while 42% listed oft-beleaguered availability and long wait times at public charging stations as negatively impacting their user experience.

If EV manufacturers expect to win over future buyers, it’s clear that more will be expected of our national charging infrastructure to keep pace, with a measured approach of not simply meeting current demand but anticipated future growth. In the classic “chicken or egg” debate — do we focus on chargers or vehicles first? Stakeholders have opted to invest in EVs at a rate faster than both the infrastructure needed to support it and consumer acceptance. 

New inroads

The conversation is changing. While the time horizon has turned out to be longer than many expected, government, utilities and key stakeholders are beginning to understand the complexity and astronomical costs associated with putting charging infrastructure in the ground and maintaining equipment and networks to make them more reliable. 

Cities across the country are looking for alternative solutions to accelerate charging capacity, like offering installation rebates for residential buildings. But with the number of EVs on the road expected to grow from 480,000 today to 21 million by 2040,² infrastructure growth will need to be exponential to keep up. 

According to Natural Resources Canada, more than 1.6 million parking space retrofits will be required in multi-unit buildings by 2030 and nearly 3.2 million by 2035 to meet private demand, in addition to 40,000 public charging ports required at an estimated cost of $18 billion.³ Not to mention the coordination required to deliver the policy changes needed to make new housing EV ready, incentives to offset retrofitting costs for consumers and the public and private investment necessary to deal with increased demand on the grid.⁴

Pedal to the metal

On a positive front, Canada has a solid end-to-end supply chain for EVs. We’re a leading producer of the ethically sourced minerals needed for production, with ample resources needed to create clean sustainable products for the North American market. Global companies are taking notice. And they’re choosing to invest here. 

Important infrastructure developments in more populated and urban areas may be a harbinger of good things to come. Like the massive St. Thomas battery cell gigafactory breaking ground this year, expected to generate 90 gigawatt hours and power one million EVs annually starting in 2027.⁵ Or the $5 billion joint venture between Stellantis and LG Energy Solution (LGES) to build the first large-scale lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Windsor set to begin production next year.⁶

Such concerted, coordinated and collaborative efforts between governments, investors and EV stakeholders will be essential not only to get chargers in the ground, but incentives on the table to help bridge the gap between reality and consumer expectations and continue the momentum driving EV adoption. Infrastructure programs that fund regional priority projects in support of clean electricity infrastructure will help ensure continued momentum.

Similarly, long-term forecasting, planning and budgeting will be critical to avoiding delays in charging efforts. Beyond urban centres, access along highways and in rural areas will be needed to ensure a reliable network — coast to coast — quelling range concerns over time. 

As will zero-emission vehicle rebate programs. Monetary incentives rose in importance 5% year over year to 28% as a core motivator encouraging the purchase of vehicles, following closely behind high fuel prices and environmental concerns. Federal offerings, like the iZEV Program, which provides up to $5,000 at point of sale — plus provincial programs offering rebates of up to $7,000.⁷ While we continue to see a progression of EV to ICE parity (in some cases its already occurred where EV and ICE are on par in terms of cost) these rebates help shave some of the premium owners pay for EVs over combustion models. 

But tightening budgets may see these programs discontinued or clawed back at a time when they are most needed to maintain forward trajectory. As a result, continual adjustments will be needed to predict changing customer expectations, sustain budgets and forecast for the future.