Charge 'er up!
It’s a race to the production line, but unless a shipload of Nissan Leafs (Leaves?) or Tesla S show up within the next couple of months, the first fully electric car to be available at Canadian dealers, legal on Canadian roads will be the smart. Already sold in Europe, 1,500 smart fortwo electric drive cars will be available for long-term lease in North America starting this fall, rumoured to cost approx. $600 per month. This second generation of smart EVs (electric vehicles) will have a range of 135 kilometres and a home-charging system, the smart can handle many Canadians’ daily needs. By 2012, the car will be available in 40 countries.
Provincial governments are offering rebates for buying or leasing EVs; Ontario is offering between $5,000 and $8,000. They plan to offer recharging stations at some commuter hubs and allow EV drivers into HOV lanes, even if there’s only one person in the car. Alberta is offering $3,000 rebates for hybrid taxis. Manitoba is actually testing a hybrid vehicle made in the province, hoping for a home-grown alternative vehicle, but no word yet on rebates for individuals.
Will the electric car wipe the gasser off the map? Of course not. Not right away. But why do arguments against the electric car always assume it’s eat or be eaten? Just like banking, where we once had just tellers, then we had tellers and phone banking, then we added ATMs, then we added internet banking, then mobile banking, adding electric cars simply means new options for the marketplace. As the cost of fuel rises, and the scale of electric car production increases, no doubt EVs will seem increasingly attractive. Not because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s convenient. (Think about it: You could “fill up” overnight at home, when power rates are at their cheapest, rather than stopping by a station.)
Me, I’m just looking forward to an affordable zero-emission choice.
