Canada faces declining EV interest, report shows, despite push to boost sales

globalnews.ca:

Canada continues its work towards net-zero carbon emissions, including through its mandate for at least 20 per cent of car sales to be electric vehicles (EVs) by 2026, a new report showing a declining interest in the products is raising questions whether that goal is doable.On Monday, AutoTrader.ca released its 2023 top search data into some of the most popular vehicles searched on their marketplace this year and while it showed a rise in popularity of trucks, the number showing an intent to purchase an EV has declined from one year prior.In 2022, the data found about 68 per cent of car shoppers who did not own an EV showing an intent to purchase one amid the record high gas prices faced and the growing inflation.

This year, that purchase intention has dropped to 56 per cent and while that’s still more than half of Canadians surveyed, it was still a major drop.“So higher gas prices, people are more interested in EVs, lower gas prices, that interest starts to soften a bit,” AutoTrader editor-in-chief Jodi Lai told Global News in an interview.Among Canadians who said they had no plans to switch to an electric vehicle, 40 per cent said vehicle prices were the primary cause, with interest rates and inflation also top reasons.According to AutoTrader, just one in 10 Canadians owns an EV and though it found alternate fuel interest showing a higher percentage than a year ago, searches for EVs account for less than three per cent overall on the marketplace’s website.But as the report notes the decline, it raises questions about Canada’s plan to boost EV production and make it a majority of sales.Greig Mordue, the chair of advanced manufacturing policy at McMaster University’s school of engineering, said though Canada’s uptake on