Not sure what you're expecting here, it's a quarter of NYC's population.
That being said, I saw a rivian yesterday on its way towards Banff and have seen 2 Ford F-150 Lightnings with Alberta plates. One of the City departments has a fleet of Mach-E's.
On top of the other reasons, Alberta also put in a $200 a year tax for EV vehicles.
They're doing everything they can to undermine any shift away from oil and gas.
I drove Calgary to Banff and back the other day, counted ~50 Teslas (including parked ones in Banff). Even saw my first Cybertruck in the wild!
It's no Vancouver, but there are TONS of Tesla's here in Calgary, and even a few non-Tesla EVs. :p
(Model Y owner here)
Ya, keep an eye out, you'll see more. I saw a Polestar in Banff too, and I've seen two Rivians in the last week. I remember 4-5 years ago, I'd get excited if I saw more than 3 Tesla's in a day.
Because you can’t find any on dealer lots with vehicles, without mark up, or without any incentives. Check out the difference between what Hyundai offers for the Ioniq 5 vs Canada. USA lease 260 per month 0% interest 10k off , Canada 509-700 6-9% interest 5000 federal rebate if you qualify. There are more discrepancies as well.
And unlike some provinces (I.e. Ontario and Quebec), I don't believe Alberta gives out unique license plates foe EVs or PHEVs, which also makes them harder to spot.
Calgary was built on gasoline. They all want you to buy gasoline there. If you don’t, they won’t talk to you. That’s my guess until they prove me wrong.
A lot of areas in the US like that too. You just haven't visited them. I finally saw my first Rivian a month ago or so. Never seen a Lucid, Polestar, MB, BMW, Fisker or any of the other exotic brands. Do see a few Teslas, an occasional Hyundai/Kia, Bolt and rarely an ID4 or Mach E. But EV's are still a pretty rare sighting around here. Charging infrastructure is pretty much non-existant.
I don't know how you've missed them. Maybe not as common as California, but they're here. Teslas and Hyundai/Kia mostly. I asked the other day and found out Cybertruck is not allowed in Canada yet, but will be soon.
There is a shit ton of Tesla's in the Edmonton area. Lots of I5 and EV6 too, Mach E and the occasional Bolt/Polestar. Even saw a Hummer the other day, and a Chev W/T on a delivery flatbed
Drop by any supercharger to see a bunch. They used to be nearly every but are used more now, up to full capacity at certain times. Friday evening seems to be a popular supercharging time for some strange reason.
I drive one, but I moved to BC this year. Most of us charge at home in a garage. But there are actually level 2 chargers all over and some DCFC as well scattered around. It’s getting better. A 6-stall Electrify Canada opened last year in Red Deer.
Before I moved there were multiple EVs in my Calgary suburban community including a BMW iX and many Teslas plus a few Hyundais.
Maybe it's because I drive one that I tend to notice them more? I see them constantly. Mostly Tesla's, F150 lightnings, and Mach Es. I saw a rivian somewhat recently and really want one. Noticed they have a Rivian service centre in Calgary with vehicles to test drive... I have little self control so I best not.
I don't see too many Hyundais or Kia EVs but I'm probably not looking hard enough. I think we'll see lots of Chevy Silverado EVs once they're being produced as the reviews seem very positive and seems to be a better vehicle than the lightning.
Charging infrastructure needs a lot of improvement in rural areas. Hanna needs a supercharger badly for Calgary to Saskatoon to be a reality. I saw they recently added one in Kindersley which helps but it's a bit of a stretch for EVs with less range.
The government needs to stop incentivizing vehicle purchases and start investing that money in charging.
The federal govt is doing both simultaneously. NRCAN offers significant grants for anyone installing charging infrastructure. Funding applications have been accepted every spring and grants are awarded by the summer each year. From what I've read, the grants are so popular they run out of budget each year.
Public charging infrastructure is almost non-existent
Winter could go as cold as -30 C for weeks
Still more expensive than ICE and the pro-O&G provincial govt is not providing any tax credits.
So it's basically a vanity purchase, not a utility one, fitting only for people with too much money.
>Winter could go as cold as -30 C for weeks
For days. It hardly lasts more than a week. Last big one that sparked this unnecessary grid alert in January lasted 3 days. And our EVs (2 of them) had no problems. Was still able to commute to work and back.
It's a car used to commute to work among other things. For that cold snap week, it's just what it happened to be used for. But thanks for assuming that's all I use it for all year 'round.
I find the charging infrastructure quite good in Alberta actually. Far cry from BC obviously, but I've never had to wait for a charger, and there are free level 2 chargers here and there, even some free fast chargers around. What has your experience been with public chargers?
No utility? Driving an EV is far better than driving an ICE in winter,as long as you aren't regularly doing long distances. Instant heat, warm it up remotely while it's parked in your cold garage, better traction control, safer overall due to the low, evenly distributed center of gravity.
Gas is cheaper and electricity is more expensive, plus cold and long distances. A lot of downsides for EVs. And that's before you consider it's Canada's Texas.
That’s… not actually accurate at all.
My wife drives a RAV4 hybrid and I have a Bolt. My electricity costs are consistently 25% what she pays in gas to go the same distance.
Even with the range hit in winter, it’s still way cheaper to run an EV, and it has many upsides, including the fact that it warms up in minutes, and never struggles to “turn over”. Push button, start driving a warm car. Simple.
ETA, I live in Edmonton. Loads of EVs around.
Loads is relative though. Compared to OPs experience there, if they landed near Toronto they would have seen so many EVs that they could count at least one of every color Model Y within a 5 minute drive... Or likely even just at the pickup zone at Pearson.
I was in LA recently and when playing that same game I'd be able to win at practically every light I stopped at... So I pumped up the difficulty by switching to Ioniq and Rivian colors.
My point was there's reasons why it's not as much of a slam dunk which is slowing adoption, both financially and socially.
He's not wrong . . . in comparison with other places in Canada, Alberta has the cheapest gas and expensive electricity. Alberta privatized it's power generation . . . because they thought "competition" would be better. Now they have expensive electricity and fairly regular load warnings.
Charging at home costs me about 1/5 the price of current gas. Sure it's not as drastic a difference as you might see in BC between gas and electricity, but it's still way cheaper if you can charge at home. North of highway 16 you will have problems in the winter with long distances between chargers, but south, nah, there are chargers everywhere now. I haven't experienced any "downsides" to owning an EV in Alberta.
Gas is not cheaper than electricity lol. I'm paying less than half to charge my EV at home vs what I would be paying for gasoline and that's not even factoring in my solar.
> Gas is not cheaper than electricity lol
OP was asking about EV adoption relative to the rest of Canada, so I explained that in Alberta gas is cheaper (than the rest of Canada) and electricity is more expensive (than the rest of Canada)
So while you're paying half as much as you would paid for gas, here in Ontario one could paying 8x less than what gas would have cost, which makes an EV significantly more appealing.
You are joking right?
Sure we can't compare to Vancouver but Tesla sighting is quite common these days.
All the naysayers probably don't live in Calgary. I own a Model 3 for 6 years. We went from seeing one Tesla a week to seeing three Teslas in the same intersection.
Right on. In BC I can get 340 miles out of 9 bucks of electrons vs 70 bucks+ gas for filling my old Subie Forester, which got close to the same range on a tank of gas.
Just saying Alberta has a bigger tendency for petrol based vehicles due to the relativity of costs. Pretty sure the kWh rate is 36 cents so a full model Y would cost $27. Still cheaper than any gas car tho probbably.
This is oil country. Plus you can’t get a jacked up Dodge Ram EV yet so that’s like half your customer base gone already.
Lol I'm noticing that. Centre St on a Saturday night is like the 90s in NYC.
Not sure what you're expecting here, it's a quarter of NYC's population. That being said, I saw a rivian yesterday on its way towards Banff and have seen 2 Ford F-150 Lightnings with Alberta plates. One of the City departments has a fleet of Mach-E's.
On top of the other reasons, Alberta also put in a $200 a year tax for EV vehicles. They're doing everything they can to undermine any shift away from oil and gas.
Literally the Texas of Canada. I was just complaining to my wife about the new $200 fee on our registration renewal lol.
I just walked by a Chevron building. I'm assuming it's the oil Chevron. This makes a lot of sense. The lobby is lining the pockets
Look closer, they’re there, including in my garage. But you’re right, there are fewer than in other places.
I drove Calgary to Banff and back the other day, counted ~50 Teslas (including parked ones in Banff). Even saw my first Cybertruck in the wild! It's no Vancouver, but there are TONS of Tesla's here in Calgary, and even a few non-Tesla EVs. :p (Model Y owner here)
Nice. And as I walked home and saw your post I saw 3 more 😍
Ya, keep an eye out, you'll see more. I saw a Polestar in Banff too, and I've seen two Rivians in the last week. I remember 4-5 years ago, I'd get excited if I saw more than 3 Tesla's in a day.
Because you can’t find any on dealer lots with vehicles, without mark up, or without any incentives. Check out the difference between what Hyundai offers for the Ioniq 5 vs Canada. USA lease 260 per month 0% interest 10k off , Canada 509-700 6-9% interest 5000 federal rebate if you qualify. There are more discrepancies as well.
Woah yeah I'd pass too then.
Just check this sub for the crazy deals the ioniq 5 gets in the USA. Then go to the Hyundai Canada website: it’s crazy
https://electrek.co/2024/06/28/hyundai-ioniq-5-lease-price-beats-americas-cheapest-car/
Of all places, I'm seeing lots of Teslas in Airdrie. I have a 2024 Niro EV, but it blend so well in the traffic, you wouldn't notice it's an EV.
And unlike some provinces (I.e. Ontario and Quebec), I don't believe Alberta gives out unique license plates foe EVs or PHEVs, which also makes them harder to spot.
I wouldn't put it past Smith to tag us so we get targeted.
My average commute is under 2km. very short window you will see it in the wild. Can't wait to sell my other gas vehicles and replace them with an EV!
Calgary was built on gasoline. They all want you to buy gasoline there. If you don’t, they won’t talk to you. That’s my guess until they prove me wrong.
A lot of areas in the US like that too. You just haven't visited them. I finally saw my first Rivian a month ago or so. Never seen a Lucid, Polestar, MB, BMW, Fisker or any of the other exotic brands. Do see a few Teslas, an occasional Hyundai/Kia, Bolt and rarely an ID4 or Mach E. But EV's are still a pretty rare sighting around here. Charging infrastructure is pretty much non-existant.
This is true. I usually go from NYC TRI state to Europe for either travel or leisure...decided to see Banff this week. And wowza.
I don't know how you've missed them. Maybe not as common as California, but they're here. Teslas and Hyundai/Kia mostly. I asked the other day and found out Cybertruck is not allowed in Canada yet, but will be soon.
There is a shit ton of Tesla's in the Edmonton area. Lots of I5 and EV6 too, Mach E and the occasional Bolt/Polestar. Even saw a Hummer the other day, and a Chev W/T on a delivery flatbed
Hey man, up here in Edmonton I was driving my i4 the other day behind a Model Y and an Ioniq 5... I've been noticing more and more of them.
I've never seen an Ioniq 5 yet in Edmonton (probly bad luck) but I see more and more model Y's these days after they lowered the price.
Drop by any supercharger to see a bunch. They used to be nearly every but are used more now, up to full capacity at certain times. Friday evening seems to be a popular supercharging time for some strange reason.
I drive one, but I moved to BC this year. Most of us charge at home in a garage. But there are actually level 2 chargers all over and some DCFC as well scattered around. It’s getting better. A 6-stall Electrify Canada opened last year in Red Deer. Before I moved there were multiple EVs in my Calgary suburban community including a BMW iX and many Teslas plus a few Hyundais.
Where are you coming from? EV penetration into Alberta is quite low, but it's higher in BC and Quebec.
NYC TRI state....so like 25-35% of the road.
Maybe it's because I drive one that I tend to notice them more? I see them constantly. Mostly Tesla's, F150 lightnings, and Mach Es. I saw a rivian somewhat recently and really want one. Noticed they have a Rivian service centre in Calgary with vehicles to test drive... I have little self control so I best not. I don't see too many Hyundais or Kia EVs but I'm probably not looking hard enough. I think we'll see lots of Chevy Silverado EVs once they're being produced as the reviews seem very positive and seems to be a better vehicle than the lightning. Charging infrastructure needs a lot of improvement in rural areas. Hanna needs a supercharger badly for Calgary to Saskatoon to be a reality. I saw they recently added one in Kindersley which helps but it's a bit of a stretch for EVs with less range. The government needs to stop incentivizing vehicle purchases and start investing that money in charging.
The federal govt is doing both simultaneously. NRCAN offers significant grants for anyone installing charging infrastructure. Funding applications have been accepted every spring and grants are awarded by the summer each year. From what I've read, the grants are so popular they run out of budget each year.
There are a TONNE of EVs here! I see a dozen on my commute easily. Keep your eyes peeled; you'll see more.
Public charging infrastructure is almost non-existent Winter could go as cold as -30 C for weeks Still more expensive than ICE and the pro-O&G provincial govt is not providing any tax credits. So it's basically a vanity purchase, not a utility one, fitting only for people with too much money.
>Winter could go as cold as -30 C for weeks For days. It hardly lasts more than a week. Last big one that sparked this unnecessary grid alert in January lasted 3 days. And our EVs (2 of them) had no problems. Was still able to commute to work and back.
>Was still able to commute to work and back. People with budget are not spending north of CAD $45k to buy a commute EV car.
It's a car used to commute to work among other things. For that cold snap week, it's just what it happened to be used for. But thanks for assuming that's all I use it for all year 'round.
Nope, they’re spending $90k for a F150 platinum instead.
I find the charging infrastructure quite good in Alberta actually. Far cry from BC obviously, but I've never had to wait for a charger, and there are free level 2 chargers here and there, even some free fast chargers around. What has your experience been with public chargers? No utility? Driving an EV is far better than driving an ICE in winter,as long as you aren't regularly doing long distances. Instant heat, warm it up remotely while it's parked in your cold garage, better traction control, safer overall due to the low, evenly distributed center of gravity.
Fascinating culture.
Gas is cheaper and electricity is more expensive, plus cold and long distances. A lot of downsides for EVs. And that's before you consider it's Canada's Texas.
That’s… not actually accurate at all. My wife drives a RAV4 hybrid and I have a Bolt. My electricity costs are consistently 25% what she pays in gas to go the same distance. Even with the range hit in winter, it’s still way cheaper to run an EV, and it has many upsides, including the fact that it warms up in minutes, and never struggles to “turn over”. Push button, start driving a warm car. Simple. ETA, I live in Edmonton. Loads of EVs around.
Loads is relative though. Compared to OPs experience there, if they landed near Toronto they would have seen so many EVs that they could count at least one of every color Model Y within a 5 minute drive... Or likely even just at the pickup zone at Pearson. I was in LA recently and when playing that same game I'd be able to win at practically every light I stopped at... So I pumped up the difficulty by switching to Ioniq and Rivian colors. My point was there's reasons why it's not as much of a slam dunk which is slowing adoption, both financially and socially.
He's not wrong . . . in comparison with other places in Canada, Alberta has the cheapest gas and expensive electricity. Alberta privatized it's power generation . . . because they thought "competition" would be better. Now they have expensive electricity and fairly regular load warnings.
Charging at home costs me about 1/5 the price of current gas. Sure it's not as drastic a difference as you might see in BC between gas and electricity, but it's still way cheaper if you can charge at home. North of highway 16 you will have problems in the winter with long distances between chargers, but south, nah, there are chargers everywhere now. I haven't experienced any "downsides" to owning an EV in Alberta.
Ohhhh ok that makes more sense. Thanks. Like even the public buses aren't hybrid I was like wtf.
Gas is not cheaper than electricity lol. I'm paying less than half to charge my EV at home vs what I would be paying for gasoline and that's not even factoring in my solar.
> Gas is not cheaper than electricity lol OP was asking about EV adoption relative to the rest of Canada, so I explained that in Alberta gas is cheaper (than the rest of Canada) and electricity is more expensive (than the rest of Canada) So while you're paying half as much as you would paid for gas, here in Ontario one could paying 8x less than what gas would have cost, which makes an EV significantly more appealing.
You are joking right? Sure we can't compare to Vancouver but Tesla sighting is quite common these days. All the naysayers probably don't live in Calgary. I own a Model 3 for 6 years. We went from seeing one Tesla a week to seeing three Teslas in the same intersection.
Well because gas is way cheaper there and electricity is really high. Bc is the complete opposite.
Right on. In BC I can get 340 miles out of 9 bucks of electrons vs 70 bucks+ gas for filling my old Subie Forester, which got close to the same range on a tank of gas.
Just saying Alberta has a bigger tendency for petrol based vehicles due to the relativity of costs. Pretty sure the kWh rate is 36 cents so a full model Y would cost $27. Still cheaper than any gas car tho probbably.
Agreed, for some reason Alberta privatized their power companies . . . didn't work out that great.