WATERLOO REGION - When Emily Schroeder's 2014 Volkswagen Passat TDI got caught up in the automaker's 2015 emissions scandal, she was suddenly in the market for a new car.

She loved her diesel, but wanted to see what else was available. That's when the German company's new all-electric Golf caught her eye.

Despite some uncertainty about the battery, especially during cold Canadian winters when range can decrease by as much as half, she opted for the new 2017 e-Golf - the first all-electric vehicle in Volkswagen's Canadian lineup.

"Now I have a home charging station, and I can just drive right past the gas station," she says with a laugh. The car gets about 200 kilometres per charge, which is more than enough for her to make quick trips around town and to commute to her job at the University of Waterloo.

Saving on fuel and maintenance costs was a big factor in her decision, as well as the reduced impact on the environment.

"I really do care about emissions and sustainability," she said.

Schroeder isn't alone in her decision to go electric, as the number of electric vehicles registered within Waterloo Region has seen a significant spike in the past year.

According to Sustainable Waterloo Region, a not-for-profit group that pushes for environmental sustainability in the region, the number of electric vehicles nearly tripled last year - from 559 in 2017 to almost 1,500 in 2018.

That includes both fully electric vehicles, like Schroeder's e-Golf, as well as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt that use a combination of electric power (20 to 80 kilometres per charge, depending on the vehicle) and a gasoline backup (usually 500 kilometres or more).

It's an impressive increase after Waterloo Region had just 70 electric vehicles registered in 2013. The spike in 2018 also allowed Sustainable Waterloo Region to blow past its goal of 1,000 vehicles by 2020.

That increase isn't localized in tech-heavy Waterloo Region either. According to Waterloo-based clean tech company FleetCarma, more than 34,300 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles were sold across Canada between January and September 2018 - 78 per cent more than the 19,200 sold in all of 2017, and triple the 11,000 sold in 2016.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation could not verify those numbers for The Record, and total electric vehicle sales are still just a drop in the bucket compared to the two million new vehicles sold in Canada last year.

Nevertheless, drivers are taking notice of electric options and the industry is approaching a tipping point where they're becoming a viable option for many motorists, says Tova Davidson, executive director of Sustainable Waterloo Region.

"(Drivers) are beginning to understand they're an option without making major shifts to your personal behaviour," she says.

A report from the federal government's Advisory Council on Climate Action released in March noted that zero-emission vehicles are "on the cusp" of moving from a niche market to the mainstream.

Two of the biggest knocks against electric vehicles in the past were the high purchase price and low battery range. But today many makes and models of battery-only vehicles offer hundreds of kilometres of driving on a single charge, and as the technology improves it is expected that costs will continue to drop.

There are about 6,000 public charging stations across the country. There are 158 in Waterloo Region, including a Tesla supercharger with 16 charging stations in Cambridge near Highway 401. Tesla is also poised to open a new service location on Victoria Street North in Kitchener later this year.

More than 20 different models of vehicles are available for purchase in Canada for less than $55,000. When combined with the new federal incentive of up to $5,000 for electric vehicles (and $2,500 for plug-in hybrids) worth up to $55,000, the affordability gap is closing.

Nine electric cars and 13 plug-in hybrids are eligible for the federal incentive, which will cost up to $300 million over three years.

That federal funding comes on the heels of the Ontario government ending its own incentive that offered up to $14,000 for electric vehicles last July, as well as a rebate for electric charging stations. In January, the Ministry of Transportation told The Record that more than 12,300 incentive claims were submitted during the last fiscal year.

The provincial incentive was criticized for giving thousands of dollars to wealthy car owners to purchase expensive, luxury electric vehicles such as Teslas.

But those incentives also work to change consumer behaviour. According to the federal government, 97 per cent of all electric vehicles sold in Canada are in provinces that offer incentives.

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During his visit to the Toyota plant in Cambridge on April 29, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "We know that for many people there remains a price barrier. They would love to buy a zero-emission vehicle, but the extra few thousand dollars it costs in some cases are a significant barrier to being able to purchase them."

Elliot Johnson, chief investment officer for Toronto-based investment firm Evolve Funds Group Inc., said the federal incentive is "very, very good news" for the future of electric vehicle ownership in Canada, and an improvement over the flawed provincial strategy.

Evolve invests in companies involved in developing electric vehicles and drivetrains, as well as autonomous vehicles. Johnson said the new federal incentive could push automakers to continue developing lower-cost electric vehicles, and could "dramatically increase" the number of potential buyers.

Only about two per cent of all new vehicles sold in Canada are zero-emission. The federal government wants to increase that to 10 per cent by 2025, 30 per cent in 2030, and 100 per cent by 2040.

It follows the lead of other countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Spain. They have all announced plans to fully phase out the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040. Norway wants to do it by 2025.

For that to happen, the types of electric vehicles on the market must expand, said Johnson. For example, four of the top six vehicles sold in Canada in 2018 were pickup trucks, with combined sales surpassing 342,000 - and while automakers are working to develop electric pickups, there's currently nothing available on the market to meet that demand.

"You need to broaden electrification across the full spectrum of products," said Johnson. "And that is happening."

Lowering vehicle emissions will be key for Canada to reach its carbon emissions reduction targets. Transportation is the second-largest source of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions (or about one-fifth of all emissions).

Sustainable Waterloo Region says transportation accounts for about half of all emissions locally. It's the single largest source in the community, followed by workplaces (27 per cent) and homes (18 per cent).

Davidson said electric cars aren't the only way to lower transportation emissions. Cycling, walking, carpooling and public transit are excellent options as well.

"And the adoption of the Ion which is the biggest electric vehicle in the entire region," she adds with a laugh. "I'm really excited about that coming online."

jjackson@therecord.com

Twitter: @JamesDEJ