Promoting electric cars
Electric and hybrid vehicles of various shapes and sizes were lined up in the Marriott Montreal Airport Hotel parking lot last week as part of the Rendez-vous branché au travail organized by Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) with Équiterre and the West Island of Montreal Chamber of Commerce.
The idea was to let people know about the latest advances in electric vehicles. West Island car dealerships and Montréal Auto Prix supplied 11 models to try.
This reporter took a spin in a compact Chevrolet. The model has been discontinued and is selling, used, for around $17,000. The ride was comfortable and air-conditioned. The car handled easily, had solid acceleration and smooth brakes and would need to be recharged every 130 kilometres.
The provincial government’s goal is to have 100,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2020 and it is offering $8,000 in financial incentives to encourage drivers to buy electric. There are currently 27,000 electric vehicles on the road in Quebec. Electric vehicles counted for 2.2 per cent of vehicle sales in Quebec in 2017.
The event was part of an ongoing ADM initiative to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the ground. The airport has 52 charging stations and two bike-repair stations.
An electric bus is used to shuttle passengers between independent flights and the airport terminal and 70 per cent of the airport’s 365 taxis are hybrids.
In May, the airport received its first truck that had been converted from internal-combustion engine to electric by the company Ecotuned Automobile. The truck’s lifespan is estimated at one million kilometres.
West Island of Montreal Chamber of Commerce president and executive director Joseph Huza said the WIMCC is launching a survey this week to find out which West Island businesses have sustainable development initiatives on the go and which businesses have plans in the works.
“It won’t happen overnight,” Huza said. “We have to look at the long term.”
Huza said the conversion to electric is particularly challenging for the car dealerships.
“People have to ask for electric vehicles,” he said. “It’s a case of supply and demand.”
Hyundai sales consultant Walid El-Srouji said he is seeing an increased interest in electric vehicles. Hyundai sells the Ioniq model, which runs for 200 km between charges.
He said dealerships are also responding to the Quebec environment department’s zero-emission vehicle standard (ZEV), which came into force in Jan. 2018. The ZEV standard involves a credit system that encourages dealerships to stock a greater variety of electric and low-emission models.
Three of the most common concerns about electric vehicles are cost, access to charging stations outside of cities as well as access to technicians trained in electricvehicle repairs.
The Quebec government launched the Electric Circuit of public electric charging stations in 2012.
As of May, the circuit had 1,283 240-volt and 113 fast-charging stations up and running.
Équiterre — a non-profit organization that champions ecofriendly and socially-equitable initiatives — has compiled data addressing cost differentials.
It used the example of the purchase of a $31,200 conventional vehicle. The purchase cost of a comparable electric vehicle would be around $39,900.
Factor in the $8,000 in government discounts for vehicle purchase and installation of a home charging station and the price drops to $32,800.
“It might cost a little more to buy an electric car, but you make the money back on your investment in a couple of years,” Équiterre’s Marilène Bergeron said.
According to the Équiterre data, operating costs for the electric vehicle used in the example are $377 for electricity, $83 for maintenance and $728 for insurance for a total of $1,188. The gas-propelled vehicle costs $1,718 for gas, $320 for maintenance and $784 for insurance for a total operating cost of $2,822.