Canadian EV owners love their EVs, despite public charging infrastructure needs, says CAA survey.

DARTMOUTH, N.S. –  Most electric vehicle owners will buy another EV, according to a survey of over 16,000 EV owners by the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), released today.

Nearly 9 of 10 Canadian EV owners report being likely to buy another EV, with an overwhelming 82 per cent being highly likely to do so. Only 3 per cent reported being willing to consider going back to a gas or diesel-powered vehicle.  

Additionally, CAA’s most recent survey of the general population, including non-EV owners, found that about half (49 per cent) of Canadians expressed some likelihood of buying a new plug-in electric vehicle within the next year.

Despite being overwhelmingly satisfied with their EVs, owners were far less satisfied with the availability of public charging infrastructure - 35 per cent of Canadian EV drivers said they were not at all satisfied with the number of public chargers available, and 68 per cent of Atlantic Canadian EV drivers expressing the same dissatisfaction.  

EV owners living in multi-unit dwellings were seemingly more exposed to this issue - they charge twice as often on public chargers compared to those who live in single-family homes, where they charge 85-90 per cent of the time.

“With 49 per cent of Canadian drivers currently considering electric transportation, and only 3 per cent willing to go back after they switch, what we see here is real hope for the future,” says Kurt Sampson, CAA Atlantic’s Zero Emission Vehicle Advocate. “We should have no trouble reaching our sustainable transportation goals if the automotive industry and charging infrastructure providers can catch up with consumer demand.”

CAA’s survey also found that Canadian plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) drivers tend to drive roughly 10 per cent more than the national average, and battery electric vehicle (BEV) drivers tend to drive roughly 24 per cent more than PHEV drivers. BEV drivers are also 43 per cent more likely than PHEV drivers to drive their vehicle on long trips of 200 km or more from home. Although about 1 in 10 Canadian EV drivers report that they’ve had a serious problem with lower range in extremely cold weather.

The survey also found that about half (51 per cent) of Canadian BEV owners also own a fossil fueled vehicle, although 96 per cent of those who own both consider their EV to be their primary vehicle. Operating cost savings were highly reported as a top EV benefit, with 91 per cent of BEV owners saying that the overall cost of fueling was much better, and 79 per cent saying that the cost of maintenance was similarly much better. PHEV owners also expressed significant operating cost advantages, though to a lesser extent.

This is the second time CAA has surveyed EV owners in collaboration with PlugShare Research. PlugShare surveyed their panel of Canadian EV drivers, as well as Canadian PlugShare app users, from October 3-22, 2024. A total of 16,041 EV drivers responded across all provinces, including 956 from Atlantic Canada. The results of this survey can be found here.