Those Canadians who have a soft spot for the Chevy Spark are in luck — the 2016 Spark electric vehicle (EV) will be sold in Canada (3 different provinces, to be exact), according to a recent press release.
This news marks the first time that the Chevrolet Spark EV will be offered to retail buyers in the US’s northern neighbor (fleet buyers had purchase options already).
As far as which 3 Canadian provinces, unsurprisingly, it’ll be the 3 most populous ones — Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. These are also the 3 provinces that offer notable incentives for EV buyers (or any at all).
Given that the EV ‘only’ has a single-charge range of 81 miles (~130 kilometers), the model is probably best suited towards urbanized areas — and, in particular, dense cities. So the decision to only offer it the above mentioned provinces makes a fair amount of sense. (Though, the assumption that EVs are best for large urban areas may be an incorrect one.)
In the recent press release, Chevrolet notes that the model is built on the R&D programs that supported the development of the Volt — serving as a bit of a reminder of the company’s other offerings for those looking for something with a bit more range — the sort of thing that someone living somewhere like Manitoba might prefer.
For Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver, though, why not go with the Spark EV? It’ll be interesting to see what the sales are like after a few months of availability.
It’s not exactly clear yet when the Spark EV will go on offer in Canada, or what the pricing will be like — so speculation on possible sales figures isn’t likely to be all that accurate until we get more information.
I wonder if the recent decision has anything to do with British Columbia’s recent reinstatement of its EV incentives? Or Quebec’s recent moves towards encouraging EV adoption?
Image Credit: Chevrolet