Vancouver trade show highlights the past and future of electric vehicles

Amid the shiny new electric vehicles on display at the Vancouver Convention Centre sits a 1913 Detroit Electric. 

The electric car, which ran on nickel-iron batteries developed by Thomas Edison, was owned by the wife of a prominent veterinarian, who drove it around Victoria, B.C., into the mid-1960s, says Bruce Stout of the Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association, which restored the vehicle.

The vintage car is on display at Fully Charged Live, an electric vehicle (EV), renewable and clean energy and urban mobility exhibition that takes place at the convention centre from Friday to Sunday.

To Stout, the Detroit Electric highlights how electric vehicles have long been a viable alternative to the internal combustion engine and also illustrates how EVs have gone from novelty to commonplace.

"The public is starting to realize that it's time to go out and buy an electric vehicle because most of their friends have got one, and they're the laggards," he said.

Brands such as Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Porsche, Volkswagen and Rivian are taking part in the three-day event. Also on hand are displays on renewable energy and energy-saving technology for homeowners.

Speaking at the show Friday, Josie Osborne, B.C.'s minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation, said the demand for electric vehicles in B.C. is stronger than ever. One in five cars being sold in the province is electric, she said.

She notes the show highlights not just cars but industrial vehicles such as transport trucks as well as small personal vehicles such as e-bikes and scooters. 

"People really want to make this change, and we want to make it easier for them to do," Osborne said.

Demand is set to increase as Canada is aiming for one-fifth of all new cars sold to be electric by 2026, 60 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035.

Increased demand poses challenges for B.C. Hydro, the lead sponsor of Fully Charged Live, says the utility's CEO, Chris O'Riley. He describes the change as going from a "push" to a "pull."

In years past, he says, B.C. Hydro tried to gently nudge people to consider electric vehicles. Demand is so strong now, he says, that the utility is feeling the pull of public demand to build out infrastructure. 

"It is a significant transition for society, and we want to do our part and work with our customers and with the government to make sure we're successful."

Dealing with range anxiety

Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, told the Canadian Press earlier this summer that study after study has shown that lack of available charging is one of the key obstacles to EV ownership.

"It's one of my biggest worries,'' he said.

O'Riley says they're working on building out charging stations across the province to help drivers deal with range anxiety.

B.C. Hydro says it currently has 153 charging units at 84 locations across the province, with plans to add an additional 3,000 ports over the next 10 years.

On Friday, the utility unveiled plans to install new charging stations it says can add as much as 180 kilometres worth of range to the average electric vehicle in 10 minutes.

It says the new 180-kilowatt units will be added to its network as soon as this fall, with even more scheduled to arrive in 2024.

The first communities to get the new faster-charge stations are Surrey, Manning Park and, north of Prince George, Mackenzie and Tumbler Ridge.

The federal government has several programs in place to help get chargers built.

Since 2019, Ottawa has committed $680 million toward a zero-emission vehicle infrastructure program that has a goal of installing 84,500 ports by 2029. The Canada Infrastructure Bank also announced last year it would commit $500 million to a large-scale EV charging and hydrogen refuelling initiative.