WWF Canada Enlists Celebrities to Promote Electric Vehicles

In a world where celebrity endorsements tend to carry weight when it comes to influencing the mindset and often the decisions of general society, WWF Canada has decided to take the celebrity approach in promoting Electric Vehicles as a form of personal transportation.

In a series of videos recently launched by WWF Canada, it’s President & CEO David Miller (former Mayor of Toronto), takes a series of entertainers and general celebrities out for a day of fun while driving a fully-electric vehicle (a BMW i3).  The videos include conversations about electric vehicles in general, as the exact model of vehicle is never specifically identified as well as other general environmental subject matter.

One video shows Miller driving TV personality Jessi Cruikshank around Toronto and then eventually to the environmentally sensitive parkland along the Leslie Street Spit.  Another segment features Miller with Celebrity Chef Susur Lee as they visit an urban apiary where Bees produce honey.  A third segment featured comedian Mark McKinney of Kids in the Hall Fame where they visit the first urban wind turbine in Toronto and actually head inside the huge spire.

The videos are available to view for yourself at the end of this article, but the takeaway seems to be consistent with the notion that many citizens are unaware of both the functionality and relative ease that one can get by adopting to Electric Vehicles for personal transportation.

Along with the videos, WWF Canada in conjunction with EV advocacy group Plug’n’Drive have prepared a timely and quite fascinating inforgaph that looks at the state of Electric Vehicle adoption in Canada.  The infograph is visible to the right and includes some rather noteworthy tidbits of information:

  • As of Sept 1, 2014 a total of 8,429 Electric Vehicles are on the road in Canada
  • Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia remain the dominant markets for EV sales.
  • In 2014 about half of the 4,340 EVs sold have been purchased in Quebec.
  • About 1 in every 174 vehicles sold in Canada are EVs.  This compares to 1 in every 8 in Norway, who leads the world in per capita usage.  The figure for California, the most EV-friendly jurisdiction in the USA is 1 in every 34 vehicles.

Noteworthy in a non-positive way was the fact that in a survey of Ontario dealerships certified to sell EVs, 46% of them did not have an EV onsite for purchase or testing.  This suggests that there are significant supply chain issues between dealerships and the automakers they represent when it comes to having available inventory.  An example of this can be found with the newly launched Kia Soul EV, which for its first year of availability will only be accessible through 11 dealerships in Canada and only 1,000 units will be available across the country.

While the information provided could be seen in a negative light, suggesting that total penetration of EVs is barely registering in Canada and that with limited availability of supply, the future seems bleak for any real improvements.  However when you also consider that according to the infograph 77% of surveyed Canadians support the continuance of incentives for EV purchases (currently only available in ON and QC) and that 42% of Canadians feel that EVs are a good alternative to conventional vehicles – figures which continue to rise – there certainly seem to be signs that acceptance, at least amongst the public is continuing to take hold.

Advocates of Electric Vehicles can only hope that this trend continues to grow.  With additional models being introduced, greater charging infrastructure being built and an increase in available inventory all slowly taking place it would seem that the likelihood of EVs disappearing altogether is almost nil.

Canada is a long way off from the example set by Norway, which relied heavily on government support and incentives such as free parking to reach the societal tipping-point in attitudes towards EVs, but at the same time we are far removed from ground-zero as well.

 

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Eric Novak

About Eric Novak

Eric Novak is a father of 4 who also thinks that environmental stewardship is a requisite of parenting. He's not a professional Dad nor is he an environmental scientist, but he's someone who gives a damn and is trying to make the right decisions as he lives his life as a father, environmentalist, part time professor and business owner. Eric has 4 children and resides in Ajax, Ontario.