Electric vehicle owners react to expected federal regulations

Electric vehicle owners in Alberta are celebrating the expected announcement from Ottawa on 2035 sale regulations but say don’t expect gas to go away overnight.

“The average vehicle on the road lasts 10-12 years before it’s retired. So this just means that vehicles of a pure gasoline type til 2034 — and they’ll still be on the road 10-12 years after that,” said William York, Director of Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta.

An announcement Tuesday is expected from Canada’s environment minister on federal regulations that would increase the production of electric vehicles — that would eventually lead to all new vehicles sold needing to be electric by 2035.

York wants people to know electric vehicle means battery powered, as well as hybrid. Meaning gas isn’t going anywhere for a while.

“As long as the vehicle has the ability to be plugged into the electrical grid, it will be able to be sold in 2035,” said York.

While this December has been much warmer than usual — that’s not normal for this time of year in Alberta — with arctic temperatures wreaking havoc on batteries of all kinds.

York admits that an issue with battery-powered vehicles, but wisely chooses to stay home when the weather starts hurting.

“I’m not going on road trips in -40. I would cancel travel, and that’s not because of the vehicle, that’s because I wouldn’t want to hike or travel or get on the road anyway in -40,” said York.