The first commercially available EVs were out in the 90s. The first really successful EV was the Prius, which started production in 97 so almost THIRTY years ago. There is no "crushing" going on, there is a slow adoption by niche buyers. EVs will continue to be like diesel cars in north America - loved by a few but never mainstream.

I've owned an EV since 2018 (along with 5 ICE vehicles). For all the drum beating and hype, they're not making much headway in Canada. Its a cool little car for what it does, but the fact is they're limited by a few killer factors. In order for them to be mainstream they are going to have to a) be cheaper, b) have comparable range to ICE, c) have a comparable 'fill up' time of 5-6 minutes on road trips, d) lose far less range in very cold weather, e) have ubiquitous charging infrastructure and f) make them able to tow trailers a comparable distance. Until all that happens they will continue to be a minority choice for the average buyer.

[–] Tlaloc_Temporal@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

EVs don't need to beat petrol vehicles in every way, in the same way that a sedan doesn't have to beat a minivan, or a laptop doesn't need to beat a smartphone.

a) EVs are getting relatively cheaper every year, while all vehicles are getting more expensive. b) They have range far in excess of what 90% of people use in a day. c) You can rent a vehicles for road trips if you really want to drive non-stop for dozens of hours at a time. d) Cold weather range isn't too bad, and batteries usually condition themselves now. EV's have a cold weather advantage in that they don't need to idle for 10-15 minutes to prevent danage to the engine. e) Charging infrastructure is already ubiquitous, you can plug them into any electrical outlet and charge dozens of kilometers overnight. That's zero fill-up time. Most residential parking infrastructure already has available plugs for block heaters and such, basically only street parking would ve annoying here. If you regularly drive more than dozens of kilometers in a day, you can get a larger charging plug from residential circuits, like clothes driers and ovens use, for a few hundred dollars, and all but guarantee a full charge every night. f) All else being equal EVs have better torque for towing, and unless the trailer is a giant billboard they don't effect highway efficiency too much. Most importantly, 90% of people never tow anything.

EVs have different strengths and weaknesses to petrol vehicles, and the millions of people who commute under 40 miles a day would find an EV cheaper and easier to own. EVs have many of the same weakness as petrol vehicles however, and insisting they have to fill the same niches makes that worse. You don't need to be reliant on fill stations, or have gigantic vehicles. EVs are best for smaller vehicles anyway, and smaller vehicles are better for roads and people's safety.

[–] LoveCanada@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Then explain to me (and remember Im an EV owner) why In 2025, zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs)—which include battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles—accounted for only 8.7% of all new motor vehicles sold in Canada. Thats DOWN from over 13% the year before after most of the rebates dropped. Obviously, with 92% of new buyers NOT choosing them, they're not appealing to many, especially since they've had about 30 years to convince people.

[–] Tenniswaffles@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Growth doesn't have be a straight linear line always going up. We're in a transitional stage where the big issues are currently being addressed. The growth in EV adoption has been exponential, i.e slow to start with 20 years of basically nothing then 5 years of some improvements with a bit more adoption. Then 5 years of explosive growth, and the next 5 years will likely include more explosive growth as we address all the issues that they currently have.

Pretty much all technology improves like this until they plateau. Just look at mobile phones, they first popped up ~50 years ago and had very slow improvements for about ~25 years until they started to pick steam in the 2000s, and then absolutely exploded in the 2010s.

You're just an old person yelling at clouds who can't read the writing on the wall.

[–] LoveCanada@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

I'll repeat it for the deaf ones at the back of the room - Ive not only owned an EV for 8 years now, I have money invested in two EV startups, Edison Motors (because its a hybrid truck) and Aptera (because its solar powered). Im a past member of my local EV Owners Club and I've been following EVs since I first spotted a Citicar in 1978, so the only part of your comment that is correct is that Im older and much wiser than you.

The problem with your analogy with mobile phones is that when the smartphone came along, it was EXPONENTIALLY superior to anything that preceded it. Not only could it be a phone but its a handheld computer, wallet, GPS, text, camera, video, it can start your car, run your entire smart home... just about any electronic application can be applied. That beats a Nokia dumb phone by miles which is why everyone has one.

Thats definitely NOT true of EVs. They do some things better - like lower maintenance costs and have more torque and less noise. But they also do somethings worse - like much longer 'refueling' for road trips and they are almost impossible to repair by owners, they lose considerable range in the cold and they are more expensive to buy. Which is why they will remain a niche product. Because some people will find them more useful but obviously a lot of people don't.

There are some things that more money will solve, like charging infrastructure, but there are some physics problems that EVs will never solve - like how its impossible to put the same amount of energy into an EV that you have in the size of a gas tank of an ICE car. The little 10 gallon tank in an gas Fiat 500 will take you 500 kms. The Fiat 500 EV with a battery only goes 220 km using up MUCH more room for its battery and it weighs 500 pounds more. Poorer physics is impossible to market as 'superior'.

[–] CanadianCorhen@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Just bought my first EV, it was a bit steeper, but i expect to save $40,000 in maintenance and gas over the same 12 years i owned my previous car.

Cant imagine ever going back to ICE.

I'm curious where you are getting the sales drop, i see an increase: https://electricautonomy.ca/data-trackers/ev-sales-data/2026-03-13/zev-sales-in-canada-rise-to-11-2-per-cent-market-share-in-q4-2025-statscan/

New ZEV registrations across Canada hit 11.2 per cent market share in Q4 2025, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.

While that is an increase over the 9.7 per cent market share of ZEVs from Q3 2025, it represents a drop in overall volume.

If i had to guess why, its due to the incentives starting to wind down (such as BC droping its sales tax rebate), the cost offset is reducing.

[–] LoveCanada@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Those are registrations of EVs not sales, so it includes all EVs sold to date. The actual sales of new EVs are declining says Stats Canada:

"Zero-emission vehicle sales: In 2025, 169,972 ZEVs were sold in Canada, a decline of 35.7% from 2024. This sharp decrease was likely influenced by changes to federal and provincial ZEV incentive programs. In particular, the suspension of the federal Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles program in January 2025, along with the reduction of rebates offered under Quebec's Roulez Vert program, likely contributed to lower ZEV demand in 2025.

In 2025, new ZEVs accounted for approximately 8.7% of all new motor vehicles sold in Canada. Again, this represents a significant decline from 2024, in which ZEVs accounted for 13.8% of new motor vehicle sales."

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260316/dq260316c-eng.htm

There's nothing wrong with EVs for certain tasks, particularly commuting to work. But the uninformed claims that EVs are taking over gas cars and that a company is doomed if it doesnt jump into EVs is just silly. They're clearly NOT preferred by most buyers - and our north American automotive history is littered with many EV startups that have already tried and gone bankrupt. I think Lucid is on the brink just this week, and we've already seen Fisker, Canoo, Lordstown, Coda, Proterra, LION busses, Sparrow, Faraday and Nikola bite the dust. Electra Meccanica SOLO was designed and started in BC and its done too.

I even have a tiny bit of money invested in an EV startup but after 7 years of struggle Im heavily doubting they'll make it to mass market.

[–] CanadianCorhen@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

I definitely think if they were cost comprable, and they are headed in that direction, they will be the preferred option, but i agree that its happening a lot slower than I expected.

Thanks for the links!

[–] HertzDentalBar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago

People don't buy new cars every year.... And MVs sold probably also include fleet purchases.

[–] betanumerus@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Crushed lik a bug: https://www.autonext.co/news/denmark-s-ev-revolution-over-94-of-private-car-buyers-now-choose-electric

Your points are the typical nonsense of an ICE car promoter from 10 years ago.

[–] LoveCanada@lemmy.ca -1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

We're on lemmy.ca, a CANADIAN site. European buyers are a whole different beast, especially since most live in countries that you can drive across in a day or less, not the second largest country in the world like Canada.

Lets try CANADIAN stats: "In 2025, zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs)—which include battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles—accounted for approximately 8.7% of all new motor vehicles sold in Canada, according to Statistics Canada. This represented a significant decrease in market share from the 13.8% recorded in 2024, partly due to the removal of federal and provincial purchasing incentives."

They just dont sell unless they are propped up by taxpayer funds. I rest my case. I know what Im talking about - Ive been buying and selling vehicles in Canada for 45 years.

[–] betanumerus@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Country size is irrelevant and you know it. Daily commute is what matters. Few people even have time to drive more 2 hours daily and EVs are more than enough winter range for that (2 hours at 100km/h means around 200 km). In Canada, we also have electricity to charge at home overnight. Cheers.

[–] CanadianCorhen@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

My new EV has 520km range, which is higher than my ICE car had, so i think that the whole 'EV's have lesser range' is just innacurate now.

[–] LoveCanada@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 hours ago

Maybe in summer. Real-world EV range loss in winter typically ranges from 14% to 39% based on 2025 AMA tests.

[–] betanumerus@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

I agree. But some people still try to sell ICE by giving misleading information.

[–] LoveCanada@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Its indeed relevant for quite a few people. If you are going to buy ONE car, you need one that does everything you need it to do. That means your daily commute AND the annual trip to see nana at Christmas and the kids basketball tournament in another province. For a SECOND car to commute they make sense.

[–] betanumerus@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The EVs I know of can easily do all that as a first and only car. You seem to be restricting yourself to the worst EVs you can think of. Bye now.

[–] LoveCanada@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

Yes, if you dont mind stopping for 40 minute recharges twice on a trip to nana's, they can. Lots of people find that extremely annoying, especially when the charging infrastructure anywhere off the main routes in Canada is dicey and careful trip planning becomes a necessity in case a charger is down, or its not one that takes your payment system.

EVs are good for commuting, they're clearly and obviously NOT ideal for road trips/vacationing which is why people still post "Hey look I made it all the way to Newfoundland and back with my EV" in 2026 because thats literally a feat of courage, determination and planning. Some of us just like to drive and enjoy the view and not worry about how to refuel :)

[–] HertzDentalBar@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Dude, the second the Ford lightning was available in BC they were everywhere, Canada has massive EV adoption rates as we have some of the cheapest power. EVs are incredibly popular in Canada.

[–] LoveCanada@lemmy.ca -1 points 1 day ago

LOL. The Ford Lightning? C'mon man, keep up with the news. Ford cancelled the Lightning in Dec 2025 due to poor sales. They're still making the gas F150 which is their bread and butter. 90% of new car buyers do NOT choose an EV and with the subsidies dropping sales are going DOWN not up.