As gas prices continue to climb, interest in electric vehicles (EVs) is increasing across the country.
According to data from AutoTrader, interest in EVs is rebounding for the first time since 2022.
Nearly half (49 per cent) of non-owners say they’re open to purchasing an EV as their next vehicle, up from 42 per cent last year.
Baris Akyurek, vice-president of insights and Intelligence at AutoTrader says new EV prices are down 6 per cent year-over-year, which is helping narrow the affordability gap.
“As we all know, the federal government made an announcement in February, and now there’s incentives that were removed last year that are back,” said Akyurek.
“And also, there’s going to be investment in EV infrastructure.”
AutoTrader says the average price of new EVs is $61,951, with used models at an average of $45,245.
“When we look at our research results, the top three reasons for not buying an EV have been the same,” said Akyurek.
“Number one is always the range anxiety. Number two is higher purchase cost. And number 3 is infrastructure availability.”
Akyurek says this is now changing, with the federal and local governments now investing into making EV infrastructure more available and accessible.
“For B.C., it’s higher, it’s much higher” said Akyurek.
“In fact, it’s the highest in the country at 60 per cent, meaning that 60 per cent of the consumers we surveyed stated that they would consider buying an EV as their next purchase.”
He says lower-cost EV models from China could also help improve affordability by increasing competition in the market.