The Automotive Retailers Association of British Columbia (ARA) announced the launch of EVfriendly on November 22, an industry-led program sponsored by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation, and designed to boost consumer confidence in zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) ownership.
The program aims to have only trained and qualified industry professionals selling, servicing, repairing, and recycling ZEVs, in a responsible and safe way, and to provide consumers with the right information about these vehicles.
“The motivation for developing EVfriendly was to help instil greater confidence for consumers who are likely to transition from driving a conventional, gas-powered vehicle to an all-electric or plug-in hybrid,” said Ken Hendricks, Senior Project Manager.
For drivers who have already made the switch to electric, he said the program aims to reassure them that their vehicle will be properly cared for by trained and qualified industry professionals.
In October, the provincial government announced via a press release updates to its CleanBC climate plan, including the adoption of 100 per cent new ZEVs sales by 2035. The federal government mandated ZEV adoption by 2035, so the B.C. target now aligns with the federal target, according to ARA.
The development of the program started a couple of years ago. According to ARA President and CEO Adrian Scovell, the goal from the beginning was to help prepare the industry for the transition to EVs “so that consumers can be confident there is an infrastructure of fully-trained and equipped services in place to care for their vehicles.”
“This includes sales, mechanical and collision repair, towing, and recycling,” said Scovell.
ARA said a business can apply to become an EVfriendly certified service provider if it does two things: satisfies the qualifying criteria, and if their employees complete the EVfriendly online training (and third-party training for automotive repair technicians).
