96% of electric vehicle owners in Alberta would buy another one: AMA survey

For many people looking to buy a new car, an electric option means extra considerations, like battery life or ability to charge and where.

Despite these potential roadblocks, a new survey by the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) finds the vast majority of people in the province who own an electric vehicle (EV) are happy with their purchase.

"It's tough because this is something new but once you get in you know exactly what it is so after that you'll think, 'Oh my god this is easy!" said Tesla owner Amit Bhgat.

"Buy an electric vehicle, 110 per cent."

He's not alone. The survey found 96 per cent of respondents would buy another electric and 95 per cent of those said they liked electric better than gas or hybrid vehicles.

"The experience that people have here in Alberta, in this climate, on these roads in this weather, has been overwhelmingly positive," said Dominic Schamuhn with AMA.

"And so after owning an EV and driving it in an Alberta winter or two or three Alberta winters, people's confidence has gone up."

But some people might not be ready to make the change.

CTV News Edmonton asked drivers on the streets of the Alberta capital Wednesday what had them pressing the brake on making the switch.

"I think I would probably lean more towards a hybrid just because then you have that option of leaning on that fuel if you need it," said Amie Filcow.

"The batteries are not ecologically sustainable and charging stations aren't plentiful enough to make it a viable alternative," said Joe Hunder.

"Some cars will charge at home, some cars won't charge at home. There's very little by way of standard. There's very little around charging. There's level-one charging, level two, level three, so there's still a ways to go," said Randy Ferguson.

But Schamuhn said some new homes are being built with chargers and governments are preparing the electrical grid for the future.

"We know that there's continued investments from the government, from industries that are making investments in growing the public-charging infrastructure," he said.

The survey included 1,010 EV owners from Alberta.