This is the first F-150 Lightning to arrive in Estevan. It was seen charging at Peavey Mart’s free 48-amp charger. It turns out that once winter came, the purchaser was not impressed with its cold weather range, and soon sold it. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Sugarcoating EV battery ranges
The evidence is piling up. Official Canadian government figures for electric vehicle (EV) battery performance are seriously deficient.
A Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) study conducted early in February indicates EV battery performance figures published by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) fail to identify serious range deficiencies under winter driving conditions. According to the study, NRCan’s figures overestimate the distances drivers can travel with a fully charged EV battery in winter weather by 14 per cent to 39 per cent, depending on vehicle model.
It’s not difficult to imagine why the federal government would want to sugarcoat EV battery ranges. The Liberals have rarely, if ever, fessed up to their waste, incompetence and ethical lapses. The government has been reluctant to mention the $52 billion it invested in financially dubious EV battery plants is now at risk. And they haven’t said much about the $7.3 billion investment wasted on European EV battery maker Northvolt. That company filed for bankruptcy in December 2024.
The Liberals’ EV transition plan was insanely ambitious. It was fanciful to imagine they could virtually eliminate internal combustion engines in new cars and light trucks in a single decade.
EVs are plagued by high purchase and maintenance costs and troubling performance bugs; especially under Canadian conditions. They are unlikely to qualify as a satisfactory replacement for conventional vehicles in all regions of this country for years to come.
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Globally, the transition to EVs has hit some big bumps in the road. Many EV battery and car makers in North America and Europe are laying off workers, closing plants and giving up on competing with government subsidized Chinese models. European automakers laid off 10,000 employees in 2024. And, in December, Reuters reported VW has plans to cut 35,000 jobs at its European plants.
Figure 1 below describes the overly optimistic pace of government restrictions on the production and importation of cars, SUVs and light trucks powered by fossil fuels between 2026 and 2035—when 100% of new cars sold in Canada will presumably be EVs. The graph shows the government-regulated timetable for the percentage of vehicles manufacturers and importers sell that must be fully electric each successive year. This simply won’t happen—and that is because EVs are not suited to winter driving conditions in large regions of Canada.
Figure 1 Canada’s annual “zero-emissions” vehicle targets
Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canada’s Electric Vehicles Availability Standard
(regulated targets for zero-emission vehicles)
According to the CAA study there’s a big problem with the way NRCan’s figures for EV battery performance are calculated and promoted. This is because NRCan’s official numbers use the annual average range of travel with a fully charged battery for various EV models. Cold weather wintertime performance is averaged in with performance during warm parts of the year. In other words, the annual average range figures published by NRCan don’t alert drivers to the extent of the decline in performance under winter driving conditions—information of considerable relevance in most regions of Canada.
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Table 1 below compares the CAA’s battery range figures under winter driving conditions with NRCan’s official numbers. The CAA study uses a temperature range of from -7o C to -15o C to represent winter driving conditions. Those temperatures are of course more applicable to southern Ontario than Alberta or Saskatchewan. If performance suffers at -7o we can expect it to be worse during a prairie winter.
In Regina, from February 1-14, our average daily high was -23o C, and for seven of those 14 days the daily minimum was below -30o C. Wind chills were over -40oC for several days. Not great weather to be in a stalled-out EV in the middle of nowhere with no heater. Hopefully, you didn’t bring the children with you.
Table 1 – CAA and NRCan data for kilometers driven on single EV battery charge for 13 vehicle models at temperatures between -7o C and -15oC
| Vehicle
(alphabetical order) |
Ranking (longest range) | Total kilometres driven on single charge | Official range published by NRCan | Difference between actual & official range |
| Chevrolet Equinox EV | 6 | 337 km | 513 km | -34% |
| Chevrolet Silverado EV | 1 | 456 km | 724 km | -14% (-37%)* |
| Ford F-150 Lightning | 9 | 296 km | 515 km | -35%* |
| Ford Mustang Mach-E | 7 | 334 km | 483 km | -31% |
| Honda Prologue | 8 | 334 km | 439 km | -24% |
| Hyundai IONIQ 5 | 11 | 262 km | 410 km | -36% |
| Kia EV9 | 4 | 349 km | 435 km | -20% |
| Kia Niro EV | 10 | 285 km | 407 km | -30% |
| Polestar 2 | 3 | 384 km | 444 km | -14% |
| Tesla Model 3 | 2 | 410 km | 584 km | -30% |
| Toyota bZ4X | 12 | 255 km | 406 km | -37% |
| Volkswagen ID.4 | 5 | 338 km | 468 km | -20% |
| Volvo XC40 Recharge | 13 | 248 km | 409 km | -39% |
| Averages | 330 km | 428 km | -28% |
Source: Figures in the table derived from Campbell, Jessica (Feb. 10, 2025).CAA conducts first large-scale winter EV test drive to evaluate cold-weather performance. CAA Magazine, North and East Ontario. https://caaneo.ca/magazine/drive/caa-conducts-first-large-scale-winter-ev-test-drive-evaluate-cold-weather/
* See note at the end of this article.
If it sounds too good to be true…
Whose EV performance figures should consumers believe? On the one hand we have NRCan and its disingenuous minister, Jonathan Wilkinson. Many people will have difficulty believing any minister from a government that denies Chinese election interference, refuses to release evidence related to the Green Slush Fund scandal, underestimated this year’s budget deficit by $30 billion, and claims all the money collected under the carbon tax is being returned to the people who paid it. And, NRCan has of course failed to adequately support the ability of Canadian oil producers to sell their natural resource products into markets other than the US. Need I go on?
On the other hand there’s the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), one of Canada’s most highly regarded not-for-profit organizations. For the seven consecutive years up to 2023 CAA was voted Canada’s most trusted insurer.
Incidentally, a separate EV owner satisfaction survey conducted by CAA back in fall 2024 indicated many owners have experienced performance problems. Most significantly, 67% of survey respondents reported having problems with low battery ranges in extreme cold weather. Only 31% of EV owners were satisfied with the availability of public DC fast charging locations. Not surprisingly, the figures for charging station satisfaction were poorest for less urban provinces (e.g., the prairies). The survey also indicated one third of EV owners claim tires wear out on their EVs at a much faster rate than is the case with conventional vehicles.
It is quite possible the survey results underestimated owner dissatisfaction. Many people who own EVs have drunk the climate alarmists’ Kool-Aid. It might be difficult for strident environmentalists who’ve spent $50,000 to over $100,000 buying a new EV to admit they made a big mistake. Furthermore, most people who own EVs live in cities and make few long car trips. How many of them can relate to the challenge, and potential danger, of traveling long distances in rural areas under harsh winter conditions?
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Zero-emission fiction
Another instance where the government’s promotion of EVs is deceptive is found in the language used to promote the EV transition. The policy is officially referred to as “Canada’s Electric Vehicle Availability Standard (regulated targets for zero-emission vehicles).” “Zero-emission” suggests EVs are not responsible for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That‘s simply not true.
Fossil fuels remain integral during many stages of the EV production process. It will be many decades before gas and diesel fueled machinery are no longer required at many points in EV supply and production chains. The electricity required to charge EV batteries is not GHG emissions free either. When charging is supplied by supposedly green electricity, fossil-fueled machinery is frequently involved. Again, gas and diesel powered equipment is required at many points in the production of solar power systems and wind farms. Furthermore, in many countries, including China and India, EV manufacturing and downstream vehicle operation remains heavily reliant on coal-fired electrical power generation.
In addition, more materials, especially steel and other metals, are required to build EVs than similarly powerful vehicles with internal combustion engines. EV batteries are heavy and it takes a beefed-up chassis, axles and suspension to carry them. Based on pound for pound performance it takes more energy to move a heavy EV than a lighter but equally powerful conventional vehicle.
There are of course far more downsides with EV production and operation; too many to list in a commentary that is already getting long. Nevertheless, despite the foregoing, it is still reasonably likely electric vehicles will play an increasingly important role in transportation in the decades to come.
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For example, Canadian innovators like B.C.’s Edison Motors are coming up with practical niche applications for EV technology.
Something else we can count on is many elements of the regulated transition to EVs as envisioned by the Trudeau/Carney Liberals will be abandoned—many measures have already proven to be impractical, excessively expensive dead ends.
*The percentage difference figure in the CAA’s table for the Chevrolet Silverado EV is not -14%. The Silverado was likely ranked first because it indeed travels further than any of the other models listed on a fully charged battery (456 km). It makes sense placing the Chevy first when considering it still has battery charge left to go further than the other models after they have run dry. However, the percentage difference between the published numbers is not -14%. When doing the math using the mileage figures provided in the CAA table the difference is -37%. The CAA article provides no footnote or other information to explain the asterisk. Similarly, no explanation is provided to explain the asterisk next to the -35% figure for the Ford F-150 Lightning.
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