A Canadian company is making strides to make electric vehicles more accessible for drivers, and they stopped in Kamloops for a quick demonstration.
Bryan Tolbert of Sun Country Highway was in Kamloops on Monday with his hybrid van, showing how electric vehicles of all sizes can be efficient for both the consumer and the environment.
Tolbert took the van on a quick test drive in the city, showing how the van will automatically switch between the electric and oil-run motor, but a savvy driver will be able to run on mostly electric power while driving around a city.
The van has a range of 45 kilometres, which will not often be exceeded in one drive through the city, and can be easily recharged before its next use.
“These hybrid vehicles are best for short stints maybe 15 or 20 kilometres where you’re able to take someone maybe to the airport and then come back, plug it up, wait 15, 20, or 30 minutes so you’re constantly having a charge, and that’s where you save your money,” Tolbert said.
After the test drive, Tolbert returned the van to Twin Rivers Financial on West Victoria Street, where a Sun Country charging station has recently been installed.
“Kent Rathwell, who is the owner of Sun Country Highways, started the company and he’s taken charging stations and the infrastructure from Nova Scotia all the way to Tofino. He’s taken it across Canada over 1,800 locations exist and we have done the same thing in the States,” Tolbert said.
The stations cost up to $3,000, but sponsorships can cut the costs and are increasingly becoming a customer service tool. Upon installation the cost to charge a vehicle is very little, Tolbert said it is less than $3 to fully charge a vehicle.
“Slowly but surely people are starting to recognize it. It’s the wave of the future, without a doubt,” Tolbert said.
Brock Nanson is one of six Tesla owners in Kamloops and fully supports the idea of electric cars being the way of the future. He regularly makes round trips to Salmon Arm, Merritt and Williams Lake without having to worry about recharging his car.
“Go for a ride in a Tesla and you’ll understand there is probably nothing in this city that will touch it in performance,” Nanson said.
Kamloops is beginning to offer more and more locations for drivers and visitors to recharge their vehicles, and the Kamloops Visitor Centre recently added a Tesla supercharger, which recharges the vehicle in about half an hour.
“Mostly I’m charging at home,” Nanson said. “It’s green. You can get into the whole evangelism of climate change and governments doing nothing and the average individual having no clue of what’s really going on. People don’t get it. They look at the car and they still scoff.”
However, superchargers and charging stations are rapidly expanding. Nanson said he can get to Vancouver with one quick stop in Hope, and stations are available throughout B.C. and Alberta.
Electric vehicle use is slowly growing in Kamloops.
