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Christmas came in April last year for plug-in electric vehicle proponents in British Columbia, Canada, when the provincial government reinstated its Clean Energy Vehicle purchase-incentive program. Purchase rebates for B.C. buyers of plug-in electric vehicles had ended in February 2014, when the program's funding allocated was depleted. It wasn't funded anew until April 2015. DON'T MISS: When Electric Car Incentives Expire: A Case Study In Canada (Sep 2014) After several months, we can now estimate the effect of the rebates' return on the province's plug-in electric vehicle sales. B.C. car...
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Plug-in Electric Car Sales in Canada, December 2015: Tesla Model S-CapadesTesla's dominance in Canadian plug-in electric vehicle sales in December seems all but assured, given that its sales in the quarters ending in March, June and September were 250, 242, and 255 respectively. Those are the three highest single-month sales totals for any plug-in electric vehicle in...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Tesla Freakonomics: Why Fans Should Hope Early Drivetrain Data Was CorrectOur recent article on the reliability implications of a Plug-In America survey of early Tesla Model S owners was met with skepticism from the company's supporters, and support from its skeptics. But in a counter-intuitive Freakonomics-style twist, it's the firm's fans who should hope the results...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Two-Thirds of Earliest Tesla Drivetrains To Need Replacement In 60,000 Miles, Owner Data SuggestsWith almost 100,000 on the world's roads, the Tesla Model S electric car is a remarkable achievement. It remains the longest-range electric car in volume production more than three years after it launched. But reliability issues with electric traction motors in early cars--those from the 2012 and...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Plug-in Electric Car Sales in Canada, November 2015: Autumn Reign For VoltThe second-generation Chevy Volt followed up its 203 October sales with 178 units in November, likely leading the Canadian plug-in electric vehicle pack. Though it will end December with slightly lower year-over-year volumes, the positive early reception suggests the 2016 Volts have the potential...
Matthew Klippenstein -
New Government, New Hope For More Electric Cars In Canada?Canadian electric vehicle advocates can look at the election of Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party with cautious optimism, and not just for the party's promise to install charging stations at government buildings. Gerald Butts, Prime Minister Trudeau's chief policy advisor, played a role in the...
Matthew Klippenstein -
During the same month in which a second-generation Trudeau won the Canadian election, the second-generation Chevy Volt took the plug-in electric vehicle sales crown. The new model helped Chevrolet sell 203 Volts in Canada in October, well above the 126 sold in September and good enough for its third sales crown in four months. It was the Volt's highest total since April 2014 (222 units)--when oil still cost $100 / barrel--and a bellwether Chevy dealership reported "effervescent" demand for the new car. DON'T MISS: U.S. Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Oct: New Volt Surges, Old Leaf Flat The...
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Plug-in Electric Car Sales In Canada, September 2015: Triple-TripleWith a "double-double" being Canadian shorthand for a coffee with two creams and two sugars, we might call September a "triple-triple": Three plug-in electric car models hit the 100-sales mark last month. Chevy sold 126 first-generation Volts in Canada in September, down slightly from August's 167...
Matthew Klippenstein -
How VW Can Atone For Diesel Deception: Electric-Car Advocate's ThoughtsThe full impact of Volkswagen's diesel-emission cheating scandal has yet to be realized, but what it has apparently already admitted to doing could result in the largest civil fine ever levied by the Federal government on an automaker. And that's just the beginning. Besides paying civil penalties...
Tom Moloughney -
Electric-Car Range: The More You Have, The More You Use, Canadian Data ShowsWith the recent announcement by the City of Los Angeles that it would lease 288 plug-in electric vehicles, now is a good time to look at a new study from Canada on how electric cars can be integrated into large fleets. It's important because it explicitly quantifies the range anxiety that...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Plug-in Electric Car Sales in Canada, August 2015: Still Chasing ChevyThe first-generation Chevy Volt notched 167 new Canadian customers in August, building on its sector-leading 150 July plug-in electric vehicle sales north of the 49th parallel. Though this represents a slight year-over-year drop from last August's 186 Volts, it's encouraging that sales have...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Plug-in Electric Car Sales in Canada, July 2015: Volt Vaults To Top?The Chevrolet Volt sold 150 units in Canada in July, by far its best showing this year. Volume was up both from June's 120 sales, and year-over-year from last July's 132 customers. With Tesla sales historically slower in the first month of a quarter, the Volt may have ended the Model S's...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Even two years ago, about a third of Canadian car buyers were open to buying a plug-in electric car--but they need a lot more practical and real-world information about the options than they're getting. And without sustained and coordinated policy support, those potential buyers may dwindle to the point that electric cars only represent 1 percent of Canadian car sales. Those are the findings of two recent surveys that have now been analyzed in a new study, Electrifying Vehicles: Insights From The Canadian Plug-in Electric Vehicle Study. DON'T MISS: Plug-In Electric Cars & Politics In...
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Plug-in Electric Car Sales In Canada, June 2015: Dial 'S' For Summer (UPDATED)On July 1, Canadians celebrated the country's founding on the three principles of Peace, Order, and Good Government. The same day, electric-car advocates took heart from the announcement of a pro-plug-in policy by one of the front-runners in the country's federal election this fall. But given that...
Matthew Klippenstein -
High-Volume Chevy Volt Dealer: How To Sell Successfully, Lessons LearnedPlug-in electric vehicle pioneers perennially proclaim that the electric driving experience is as pleasant as the dealership experience isn't. (Tesla stores excepted, of course.) Recently the organizers of the EV2015VE electric vehicle conference in Canada invited Quebec-based Bourgeois Chevrolet...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Plug-in Electric Car Sales in Canada, May 2015: Tesla Supreme For Six Months?Last month, we assumed that Nissan would edge Tesla during April in Canadian plug-in electric vehicle sales. Wow, were we wrong! Fully 167 Tesla Model S electric luxury sedans were registered in Canada that month, outpacing the 127 Leafs Nissan delivered. Not wanting to underestimate Tesla for two...
Matthew Klippenstein -
E-Mazing Race III: Electric Cars Compete On Recharging In Multiple LocationsAmerican Pharaoh may have won the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby earlier this month, but the winners of another race remains to be determined. That would be the third running of the E-Mazing Race, a competition across Canada for plug-in electric vehicles. The Derby may be "the fastest two...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Canadian Electric-Car Dealership Awards Honor Sales Success StoriesWith car dealers often viewed as an impediment to successful sales of plug-in electric cars, recognizing dealerships that embrace and promote plug-in cars is crucial to changing hearts and minds. Earlier this week, the winners of Canada's second-annual Electric Vehicle Dealership Awards were...
Matthew Klippenstein -
The Tesla Model S now owns the record for the most electric car sales in Canada in a single month To borrow from the popular song, Canada's plug-in electric vehicle market in March was "all about that S". Based on registration data, which lags by a month, Tesla sold a whopping 250 Model Ses in Canada during March – half the entire country's plug-in total – and handily beating the previous monthly sales record of 222 Chevrolet Volts sold in April 2014. DON'T MISS: U.S. Plug-In Electric Car Sales In Apr: Pace Continues Steady Most impressive of all, Tesla managed these sales without...
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Tesla Model S Double-Pedal Behavior Still Inconsistent: A Safety Plea To Elon MuskLast summer, I wrote an article patting Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk on the back for being so responsive to Model S electric-car owners. Of whom I am one. But in 2015? Not so much. I ended that article with a plea to Musk for a safety upgrade on the Model S: a firmware change to cut off power to the...
David Noland -
Plug-in Electric Car Sales In Canada, Feb 2015: Tesla May Be On Top, BC Incentives BackAfter strong December and January sales, Tesla may "three-peat" atop Canadian rankings for plug-in electric car sales last month. Lower-than-usual Volt and Leaf sales mirrored lower-than-usual temperatures across most of Canada in February, meaning the Tesla Model S stood a good chance of taking...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Plug-in Electric Car Sales In Canada, Nov 2014: L-E-A-F Spells ConsistencyThe Nissan Leaf seems to have won its second consecutive Canadian sales title in November, bringing fuel-free mobility to another 103 drivers. While down slightly from October's 113 units, this is about what one would expect, given that Canadian auto sales tend to tail off at the end of the year...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Electric-Car Charging Station At Gas Station In Tar-Sands LandElectric-car charging stations are still remarkably rare at gas stations, though a handful exist in the Pacific Northwest. But earlier this year, the Petro-Canada station in Crossfield, Alberta, installed a charging station. It's free to use, too. Perhaps not too remarkable, except that this is the...
Matthew Klippenstein -
Tesla Model S Vs BMW i3: Electric-Car Efficiency Comparison TestThe EPA has dubbed the all-electric 2014 BMW i3 the most efficient production car sold in the U.S., with an impressive 125 MPGe rating--the best of any electric vehicle. By comparison, my 2013 Tesla Model S with an 85-kilowatt-hour battery is rated at only 89 MPGe. That's a hefty 39-percent...
David Noland