“How do you hike a long journey? One step at a time,” Larry says. His journey through electric vehicle ownership has been a path from plug-in hybrid to fully electric, to charging infrastructure research for condo buildings and now educating other drivers who want to go electric.
As Larry was nearing retirement from a career that included a company car, he needed his own vehicle but knew he didn’t want to have to pay the high cost of gasoline. So, he compromised and purchased a plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV). PHEVs have plug-in rechargeable batteries suitable for commuting, typically 30-50 km range, and then operate as gas-electric hybrids if the battery is used up. However, after two years of trying to avoid gas using the smaller PHEV battery, Larry traded in that vehicle for a fully electric Hyundai Kona EV. He had preordered the Kona before the cars were available in Canada, and the dealer informed him that his was the first car off the truck in Victoria. He has been driving without gas ever since, but finds he still stops at gas stations to clean his windows, and maybe buy a cup of tea.
Larry and his wife Sharon have since moved to Nanaimo to be closer to their grandchildren. He wants to be an example to their five grandchildren by driving electric, and to do his part to leave the world a better place for them. After all, with government targets of all vehicles sold in Canada to be zero emission by 2035, Larry’s grandchildren will only ever drive electric.
He is now on the strata council of the condominium building where he lives and is working to have charging infrastructure installed so that EV drivers there will not have to rely on public charging. He has done a great deal of research; the next step is to help other homeowners to become informed about EV’s, and how the infrastructure can improve the value of their homes. He also wants them to be able to take advantage of the provincial rebate programs that are available for this infrastructure and has already applied for the EV Ready Plan rebate.
- Electric Vehicles Available in B.C.
- Learn about types of charging stations
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Charger rebates for multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs)
- Mid Vancouver Island Electric Vehicle Association
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