Teresa Marshall’s Nissan Leaf charging at her local Nissan dealership in late 2024, where she gets free charging.Supplied
Teresa Marshall was an early electric vehicle adopter.
In 2019, she was driving about 50,000 kilometres a year. To save on gas and maintenance, and reduce her impact on the environment, she purchased a used 2017 Nissan Leaf for about $20,000.
“It’s been a great vehicle,” she said. “Maintenance wise, it’s cost me a fraction. The oil change on my Acura TL was about 600 bucks. I’ve spent about $600 total on services on my Leaf in the last five years. It’s a big difference.”
But now she only drives about 5,000 kilometres a year. Since the pandemic began, she has been working from home and, at 59, is planning to retire next year from her job working as an IT project manager in health care. After recently moving to an older Vancouver apartment building with no chargers on site, she said she’s considering making the switch back to a gas-powered vehicle.
In her previous home, she had access to a 110-volt outlet and would set the timer to charge from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. nightly, which would give her about 150 kilometres of range. She was hoping her new building would put in chargers, but said that’s not happening any time soon. “I’m in that ‘early-adopter-but-I’m-not-sure-what’s-next’ stage,” Marshall said.
She’s far from alone among current EV drivers. According to McKinsey & Co.’s 2024 Mobility Consumer Pulse survey, 46 per cent of current EV owners in the United States said they would likely switch back to gas; globally, 29 per cent of EV owners are considering the same move. The Canadian figure is “in the same ball park” as the United States, said Asad Husain, a partner at McKinsey based in the Toronto office.
“The biggest challenges that come with EV ownership and why skeptics will not choose to buy an EV are many of the same reasons why EV owners are switching back to [gas cars],” Husain said. Those reasons include the initial high cost of ownership, range anxiety, inadequate charging infrastructure, the inability to charge at home and lack of familiarity with the evolving technology.
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“The industry is going through this moment of transition. We have a whole bunch of consumers leaning forward as early EV adopters and now we’re in that transition period where a few of them are either leaning back out or fewer new consumers are leaning in until we get to more stability,” Husain said.
The survey’s findings also suggest younger consumers who own EVs today are more likely to switch back to gas than older drivers. “Gen Z and millennials are more likely to switch back from an EV to [a gas-powered] vehicle versus the Gen X,” Husain said. That’s because the mobility needs of younger consumers, who are often starting families and moving around for their jobs, are evolving faster than those of Gen Xers and boomers, who tend to be more settled, he said.
A higher sticker price can also drive the decision to switch back. “Affordability [coupled] with the uncertainty of residual values of EVs poses challenges that perhaps has more of an effect on younger consumers than someone who is more established and has more stability in their lives,” he added.
But that’s not always the case. The purchase price is also a concern for Marshall. “I knew new cars were expensive, but I’m starting to feel some sticker shock with the electric cars. Not that I’m super thrifty, but I’m not stupid with my money. I can’t see spending the big, big bucks on something that’s just going to sit and depreciate,” she said.
According to AutoTrader.ca’s latest data, the average price of a new EV in Canada is $72,405 and a used EV is $43,674. Although EV prices are dropping – they have fallen 8.5 per cent and 18.6 per cent respectively, year-over-year – the cost is still out of reach for many Canadians.
“When I was driving a lot, I had no problem – I spent lots of money on new cars. I had four Acuras in a row and I’m not opposed to spending money on a car. I just don’t feel like there’s value in it, for me. I don’t need a [$50,000 to $70,000] vehicle.
“Today, and at least for the next five years, up-front buying of an EV is more expensive than a [gas-powered] vehicle,” said Elaine Almeida, a partner at McKinsey & Co., based in Calgary. “Where that extra money is going to come from is really critical,” she says.
Location, lifestyle and the inability to charge at home is influencing Marshall’s decision to not buy another EV. “If I still had access to a charger, I’d get another [EV], no problem. But I’ve moved and it’s a building that was built in the 1980s and they haven’t updated the grid,” she said.
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“I’m trying to figure out what the next step is. I really don’t want to go back to an internal combustion engine, but … I may have to,” given the purchase price and difficulty of charging, she said.
“This moment of transition and uncertainty does weigh on consumers’ minds,” said Husain. It may help to explain the growing appeal of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles that can run on gas too, “as a bridge to sole EV adoption,” he added.
Recent AutoTrader data show a similar reaction from car shoppers. While demand for fully electric cars is dropping, demand for plug-in hybrids and regular hybrids, which don’t have a plug and use regenerative braking to increase fuel efficiency, is rising.
Marshall has contemplated purchasing a plug-in hybrid, but said she can’t justify the steep price tag when she doesn’t commute, and drives just a few thousand kilometres a year. “Paying more than $50,000 for a car when I don’t drive [much] doesn’t make sense.”
For now, Marshall has been charging her Leaf at public chargers at the local library and nearby grocery stores. It takes about an hour for a full charge on a Level 2 charger, which gives her about 150 kilometres of range.
But public chargers pose other problems. “It’s not like pulling up to a gas pump and you have to wait for one vehicle – you’re waiting 20-30 minutes for each vehicle.” And many drivers are parking at charging spots overnight; during the day, chargers are often occupied by other EVs. “There’s more and more demand, and a lot of people like me don’t have overnight charging.”
Marshall’s other option is to drive her Leaf a little longer, and if something goes wrong with it to use car-sharing services or borrow vehicles from friends when needed. “The car is in great shape and maybe I should just ride it out. It still has some life in it – there’s no mechanical issues with it. I might just tough it out for another year and then see where things are,” said Marshall, hoping that prices may come down or public charging may improve.
“I’m pretty motivated by the environment. I think electric is better, but they have to make it easier for people like me who would like to get a plug-in or EV,” said Marshall.
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