The price of fuel in Kenora continues to be at all-time highs with gasoline currently at 181.9 per litre and diesel even higher at nearly two dollars a litre.
It doesn’t look to be going down anytime soon as the rate of inflation soared to 5.7 per cent in February, which caused motorists to pay 32.3 per cent more at the pump in the month.
The record-high gas prices have caused the big-name vehicle brands to begin producing more electric cars compared to internal combustion engines (ICE).
“Over the last six months we’ve seen an increase in electric vehicles, said Brendan Morris, Vice President of Kenora GM and Kenora Honda. “The government have been stepping up, they got new factories coming up in Canada. ICE vehicles are going to get phased out over the next 10 to 13 years.”
“The goal is that most manufacturers these days are looking to have a fully electric lineup by 2035, and that is the goal that we have set,” Morris added.
Honda Canada Manufacturing invested nearly $1.4 billion, along with $131.6 million from the Ontario government into their Alliston plant.
The investment will go towards upgrading assembly lines to begin manufacturing hybrid vehicles and will ensure those vehicles are built in Ontario and sold across North America.
“We’re attracting more skilled workers to fill critical jobs and connecting resources and industries in northern Ontario to the future of manufacturing electric and hybrid vehicles so that every region can enjoy the economic benefits of these game-changing investments,” said Premier, Doug Ford following the March 16, 2022 announcement.
Morris believes this investment of increased electric vehicle production will soon enough be seen in the Kenora market.
“Electric vehicles are going to be the way of the future. There’s no doubt that electric vehicles are coming. We all have to embrace the thought of potentially owning an electric vehicle. More and more electric vehicles are being released by manufacturers Honda, GM, Ford, and Toyota. With gas prices and everything going on it makes total sense.” noted Morris.
Morris says that GM currently only has two models of electric vehicles, which is their original Volt hybrid vehicle, and now have their 2022 Volt EV. He added that GM has released plans for additional electric vehicles such as their GM Hummer, Chevrolet Silverado, and GMC Sierra.
Currently, Kenora GM isn’t a licensed EV dealer, but Morris said that will soon change to embrace the increased production.
“We’re already in the works in becoming a vehicle dealer. There’s quite a large investment in order to become an EV dealer. We should be a full EV dealer hopefully by the middle of 2023 if not sooner.”
He concluded by saying additional tools are needed to facilitate electric vehicles. An on-site forklift is needed to carry the EV batteries, special tools, the proper hoists, and customer charging stations on the lot. The cost of the overall investment he says is well into the six figures.
A poll released by KPMG in Canada in mid-February said that 71 per cent of Canadians would consider purchasing an EV, with half saying their desire is greater now than it was a year ago.