The Volkswagen e-Golf is seen on display after being unveiled at the 2017 Montreal auto show.
Last week at the Alexis Nihon Plaza garage in downtown Montreal, a hybrid Porsche Cayenne S recharged in a dedicated space while its owner went shopping.
It's becoming a routine sight in Quebec.
On Thursday, Volkswagen Canada introduced the 2017 all-electric e-Golf to Canada, Honda said the Clarity plug-in hybrid will begin selling here, and Nissan announced a partnership with Flo, a company that manufactures home chargers. No pricing was announced for the e-Golf or Clarity and both Volkswagen and Honda said their vehicles would go on sale late in 2017.
Not coincidentally, the announcements were made at the Montreal Auto Show. While electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles combine for a tiny fraction of overall vehicle sales in Canada, Quebec is determinedly paving a path to an emission-free future.
The second-generation e-Golf, to be sold in Canada for the first time, gets a new lithium-ion battery with a 50 per cent boost in energy capacity, to 35.8 kWh. Translation: range will be about 200 kilometres on a single charge, VW says. It'll take five hours to recharge the battery at a Level 2 AC station, 30-45 minutes at a Level 3 DC station.
Review: 2016 VW e-Golf perfect for city dwellers with short commutes
The e-Golf is also equipped with a heated windshield and front seats. With its e-manager, the temperature (heating or cooling) can be set for a specific time while the car is still connected to the grid, so there is reduced drain on the battery once on the road.
Nissan is bringing Flo to its showrooms to facilitate the EV buy. Flo advertises a 240-volt home charger for $995 and a connected "future proof" version for $1,295. Governments in Ontario and Quebec subsidize charger acquisition and installation, and Nissan will throw in $500 to Leaf buyers through March 31. In addition, Flo will provide a free access card to its network of 3,000 chargers across the country.
Two years ago at the show, Nissan and Hydro Quebec partnered to each pick up one-third of the cost for 26 quick-charging stations in the province, the other third assumed by the location of the charger. Today, there are some 1,000 publicly available EV charging stations across the province, and more than 40 400-volt quick chargers.
At Level 2 (240-volt) stations in parking facilities such as the Alexis Nihon's, the cost is $2.50 per charge or $1 an hour, billed per minute. Which equates to cheap parking.
Speaking from the show floor on Thursday, Francois Lefevre, chief marketing manager of the Nissan Leaf, said charging infrastructure and awareness go hand-in-hand. Sixty per cent of Leaf sales in Canada are in Quebec.
"The more awareness there is in the province, the more you see the numbers go up," Lefevre said.
Lefevre said the typical Canadian drives 41 kilometres a day, so the key to success of EVs is for consumers to install a charger at home, while the private and public sectors combine to build out 'electric highways'.
Highway installation was the focus of the program with Hydro Quebec, and it is possible to drive from Ottawa through Montreal to Quebec City and beyond without range anxiety.
Meantime, manufacturers are beginning to appease consumer concerns by extending the distance on a recharge. The new Chevrolet Bolt rates at 383 kilometres per charge. The Leaf is up to 173 kilometres on average, according to Nissan.
As in Ontario and British Columbia, the electric and hybrid cars introduced Thursday will be eligible for rebates in Quebec, whether a consumer is leasing or buying. The province's Drive Electric Program, in effect since 2012 and guaranteed through 2020, also provides rebates on electric motorcycles and installation of charging stations.
All-electric vehicles such as the e-Golf are eligible for $8,000 from the province, hybids $500 to $8,000, low-speed EVs $1,000, motorcycles $2,000. The amount depends on vehicle type. For instance, a hybrid Toyota Prius returns $500, a plug-in 2017 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron $4,000, while the all-electric Smart fortwo or the Tesla Model S gets $8,000.
Rebates are $350 for a charging station and $250 for installation. The charger must be powered by a 240-vote supply, and installed by a licensed electrician.
Last summer, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard, speaking at the 29th annual International Electric Vehicle Symposium, said the goal is to connect the electric highway to Ontario and the northeastern United States.
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