Regina car show showcases perks of going electric

It was a different kind of show and shine outside the Saskatchewan Science Centre on Saturday, with electric vehicles (EVs) in the spotlight.

Owners across the country were observing Drive Electric Earth Day, an occasion to celebrate the benefits of driving an EV.

Dale Pointer from Regina Beach was showing off his 2019 Tesla Model 3, a sedan that can travel up to 500 kilometres on a single charge at higher trims. With many more charging stations being set up, he said driving it on a road trip is entirely possible.

Dale Pointer behind the wheel of his Tesla Model 3 on April 27 in Regina. (Joseph Ho/980 CJME).

“The infrastructure is coming. There are chargers in Moose Jaw. There are chargers in Swift Current, Medicine Hat,” Pointer said. “Tesla has got a big network in the States … The Trans-Canada Highway will be done later this year so you’ll be able to go virtually anywhere in Canada.”

Allison Crichlow, who owns a Hyundai Kona Electric, said chargers vary from Level 1 to Level 3. Level 2 chargers take about nine hours while Level 3s take less than an hour, she said.

“If you can find a Level 3 charger, you can stop for coffee or dinner and it could charge so you can get on your way,” Crichlow said.

Pointer charges his car at home, trading slightly higher power bills in exchange for not paying for gas.

“It’s so much more economical,” he said.

Pointer’s dual-motor model comes with extended range and all-wheel drive. Capable of going from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in 4.7 seconds, he finds it more fun to drive than a gas car.

Tesla has it priced at $61,810.

However, Pointer said it’s worth it in the long term, estimating that his commute to Regina costs about $3 per trip.

“We were ready to buy a car anyway so we thought we’d spend the money on something that makes sense into the future,” he said. “There’s a lot of people that are using their gas savings to help with the payments.”

Crichlow bought her vehicle to reduce her carbon footprint. But she said more work is needed to lower the environmental impact of EVs, specifically with production of the batteries and the source of electricity generation. Most of SaskPower’s electricity still comes from coal.

“I think any EV owner will admit making the battery is not as green as we would like to think it is. But if we could create green batteries and then charge it with solar-powered electricity, that would be a better manner of doing so,” she said.

However, she sees this generation of EVs as a good start.

“It’s the beginning of the wave,” Crichlow said.