Servicing of electric vehicles a concern in achieving zero-emission mandate

As the country works toward the federal government's mandate to have all vehicles sold be zero emissions by 2035, the automotive industry says certain obstacles must first be solved.

JF Champagne, president of the Automotive Industries Association of Canada, told The Rob Snow Show on Aug. 30 that it's an aspirational goal, but he's concerned about how the vehicles will be serviced.

“Electric vehicles are pretty much computers on wheels, and with the introduction of these vehicles, increasingly automakers are making it very hard, almost impossible, for consumers to choose where to go to get these cars serviced,” he said, adding that it's not due to a lack of skill at local repair shops but automakers making it difficult to obtain access to the information needed to repair them.

Putting the infrastructure in place and if consumers will even want to buy electric vehicles are other concerns, he said, adding that a traditional internal combustion engine is produced at a low cost while the battery packs in electric vehicles contain components that are more expensive to source.

Listen to the full interview with JF Champagne below: