Electric Vehicles

The City has long been a leader in advancing sustainable transportation initiatives and is committed to encouraging the use of electric vehicles. Shifting from fossil fuel-powered private vehicles to low or zero emission vehicles is a key strategy in advancing sustainable transportation in the City. See Electric Vehicle Strategy.

Electric vehicles (EVs) use an electric motor instead of a gas-powered internal combustion engine. Benefits of EVs include: 

  • significantly lower fuel and maintenance costs
  • five times more energy efficient than vehicles powered by internal combustion engines
  • produce 80% less greenhouse gas emissions than an average gasoline vehicle over a vehicle's lifetime
  • create less local air pollution and reduce the emissions of harmful chemicals in the atmosphere
  • access to designated high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes across BC through the EV decal program
  • quieter, helping to reduce overall traffic noise
Supporting multi-unit residential buildings to get EV Ready is part of the City’s EV Strategy.

Find out about fees and where you can charge your electric vehicle in the City.

Incentives for both zero emission vehicles as well as their infrastructure.

Types of Electric Vehicles

There are two types of electric vehicles:

  1. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) run solely on electricity, require zero gasoline and emit zero emissions. BEVs are an excellent fit for trips around the city as they have a travel range of anywhere from 100-500 km depending on make and model. Advancements in EV battery technology and the increasing availability of charging stations around the province are making BEVs more popular for everyday use.

  2. Plug-in electric vehicles (PHEVs) are a combination of a gasoline and a battery electric vehicle. PHEVs can run on electricity only, gasoline only or a combination of both. PHEVs can drive 20-60 km on their battery charge alone before switching to their internal combustion engine, which can extend the travel range by another 500-900 km on a full tank of gas. This design allows PHEVs to be a great fit for both short and longer journeys outside the city.


Contact Info

Environmental Sustainability, Planning & Development Department
Tel: 604-982-9675
Email: evcharging@cnv.org



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