Electric vehicle ownership is not without its problems, but it appears to be worth it anyway for Canadian EV owners, a survey from the Canadian Automobile Association suggests.

The CAA survey asked more than 16,000 EV owners about their experience, with the results released Jan. 14.

The CAA said 87 per cent of EV owners who responded to the survey said they plan to buy another EV when the time comes to replace their current vehicle.

Furthermore, 90 per cent said the cost of fueling their vehicle is much lower and 79 per cent said the cost of maintenance is much better than their previous gas-powered vehicle.

The survey also found some headaches for EV owners.

Seven out of 10 said they are not satisfied with the number of fast chargers available.

Additionally, 53 per cent said they would rather drive a gas-powered vehicle on long trips in extremely cold weather and 67 per cent said lower battery range in extreme cold weather has been a problem for them.

The CAA said the majority of respondents reported that most of their travel was within 100 kilometres from home.

“Our survey paints a picture of people happy they bought an EV, saying they are cheaper to operate and easier to maintain than their previous gas-powered vehicles,” said Ian Jack, vice-president of public affairs, CAA National, in a news release. “But it also found the experience of EV owners mirrors some of what the general public thinks – public charging isn’t good enough, especially outside major urban centres, and they are concerned about being caught with a dead battery in the winter.”

PlugShare Research surveyed its panel of Canadian EV owners and Canadian PlugShare app users from Oct. 3 to 22, 2024, getting responses from 16,041 EV drivers from all provinces.

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