As vaccination rates climb and infection rates drop, more people are returning to a pre-pandemic life of commuting to work. According to BC Hydro, this will create a ‘bottleneck’ for EV sales as they expect a record number of EV buyers in 2021.
This data comes with a BC Hydro survey that found that 85% of BC residents held off buying an EV due to the pandemic.
This same survey found that two-thirds of British Columbians consider buying an EV over the next five years. While 60% of those saying, they would buy one sooner if available.
As BC continues to have the highest average gas price in the country, it should come as no surprise that EV sales will start to pick up. However, the current EV adoption in BC focuses on major urban areas like Metro Vancouver and Victoria. This is because public charging stations are not as widely available in the rest of the province, but this is changing.
According to the BC Hydro, EV owners experience an 80% savings year over year compared to owning a gas-powered vehicle. When combined with the provincial and federal rebates of up to $8,000, EVs become a better deal.