The EV Charging Experience in Canada

Someday, charging an electric vehicle will be as effortless as charging your phone. And we’re getting there. In fact, most EV owners — 87 percent — are happy enough with the charging experience that they’re likely to buy another EV down the road, according to a CAA National survey. Charging anxiety — the fear of not being able to find a working EV charger when you need one — is diminishing. After range anxiety — the fear that you’ll run out of power before reaching a charging station — and purchase price, the lack of public charging infrastructure was the third most commonly cited barrier to EV adoption in Canada, according to the most recent consumer survey from industry analysts JD Power. The survey found that almost 90 percent of people who can’t install an EV charger at home or work are unlikely to consider an EV. “Abundant, reliable and fast public charging is going to be critical to reach mass adoption,” said J.D. Ney, managing director of JD Power in Canada. Part of the solution, Ney says, is making drivers aware of existing charging options via awareness campaigns and apps such as PlugShare. The other part is building more chargers. And EV charging infrastructure, charging speed and the overall experience are all gradually improving. Last year, Canada added 1,925 new fast-charging ports, bringing the total to 8,804 ports nationwide, according to a report from Paren, an analytics company that tracks EV data.