Electric vehicles were flying off the lots of dealerships at a rate nearly twice as quick as traditional gasoline-powered cars, last year.
That’s not the case anymore according to the global analysts at J.D. Power.
Today, it takes 55 days to sell an electric vehicle, nearly twice as long as the 22 days reported last year, they found.
Gas-powered cars take 51 days to get off the lot on average.
“The gap has narrowed dramatically,” J.D. Power senior manager Robert Karwel told the Financial Post.
“While the total market in Canada has slowed down, it’s EVs that have slowed down by more than double.”
The shift could be due to the slowdown of early adopters. The number of customers who are EV fanatics is drying up and interest in the technology is plateauing.
Not all EV types are facing a slowdown, however, as wealthier people are buying luxury electric cars at a rate that’s doubling each year.
“Most electric cars today are being manufactured by either legacy automakers that are new to EV technology, or by companies like Rivian that are new to making cars,” said Consumer Reports senior director Jake Fisher.
Ford Motor Company recently announced a two-year delay in the commencement of electric vehicle production at its new Oakville, Ont. plant, now set for 2027 instead of the initially proposed timeline.
Despite a $590 million subsidy partnership from federal and provincial governments, the overhaul of the Oakville assembly plant into an electric vehicle and battery assembly operation is anticipated to take longer than initially anticipated and will result in layoffs.
“This is a prime example of why governments should cut taxes and red tape instead of giving taxpayers’ money to corporations,” Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano told True North.
“Politicians and bureaucrats need to stop playing investment banker with taxpayers’ money. Governments should end the corporate welfare and instead cut taxes and red tape to grow the economy.”
While work will commence this year, the completion of the necessary equipment for assembling EVs is expected to extend over the next three years.
