Dealers across Canada may be interested to note that an investigation by CBC’s Marketplace found that electric vehicle drivers are exposed to a wide range of pricing, inconsistencies in charging performance, and unreliable charging networks.
CBC’s episode Putting Electric Vehicles to the Test: Are We Ready for 2035? aired in January. The team of investigators encountered challenges when testing for pricing and reliability at seven of the 12 stations they reviewed, which included an Ivy station, three ChargePoint, and three Petro-Canada locations.
Problems with these stations included several attempts to begin or end a charging session, and challenges with completing a payment through an app or credit card reader. However, the CBC news update notes that there were no issues when testing FLO stations, which FLO highlighted in a recent news release.
“We monitor all the chargers on the FLO Network 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This allows us to quickly resolve any issues that may come up,” said Martin Brière, Chief Network and Experience Officer at FLO, in a statement. “This CBC report shows FLO is leading the way in reliability. We know 98%-plus uptime is achievable and we think it should be the norm.”
In the end what may be needed is a standardized and convenient pricing and payment system, according to Joanna Kyriazis, Director of Public Affairs at Clean Energy Canada and based on CBC’s report. It may need to come before 2035, as the federal government expects all new vehicles sold by that date to be fully electric.
CBC’s report is available here.
