What's the hold up in getting more EVs in Toronto?

The city of Toronto has an ambitious goal: by 2030, it wants 30 per cent of all vehicles on the road to be electric. But currently, that number is only between 3 and 4 per cent. 

So what's the hold up? 

Canadian drivers' main concerns about electric vehicles include up front purchase price, repairs and maintenance, battery replacement and a lack of charging stations, according to the EY Mobility Consumer Index report released this year. 

A new electric vehicle in Canada costs an average of $67,920 — which is about $6,400 more than the average for all new vehicles across the market, according to car valuation service Canadian Black Book

That price difference can sometimes reach between 15 to 20 per cent, said Daniel Ross, senior manager of insights and residual with Canadian Black Book. 

"It's going to be a very tough sell in an already unaffordable environment," he said. 

But electric vehicles don't have the wear and tear of normal engines and don't require oil changes, says Teresa de Felice, associate vice president of government and community relations at CAA. 

"You can offset that upfront extra payment probably somewhere in the range of three to seven years," she said. 

Charging electric vehicles, though, can also be pricey. Public charging stations in Canada have a wide range of pricing and no standardized fee. 

Some stations charge per minute and some by the hour, others a flat fee and some are free, according to a CBC Marketplace investigation in January. 

Charging at home is comparatively cheaper and more convenient. Buying a level 2 battery to charge electric vehicles can set drivers back between $800 and $3,000, according to data from CAA and Toronto Hydro. 

Cara Clairman, president and CEO of electric vehicle advocacy group Plug'n Drive, said she spends about 50 cents to fully charge her electric car at home. 

"People imagine this is a thing that's going to be more expensive, but really, you need to do the math for yourself," she said.  

The city is expecting 486 public chargers to be in city owned parking lots by the end of 2024 — though apps that track charging stations across several networks, such as ChargeHub Canada and PlugShare, count as many as 3,000.