Rob Ferguson's Tesla charging in the Medicine Hat Mall parking lot (photo courtesy Teagan Rasche)

By Teagan Rasche

'It’s been a neat lifestyle change for us'

High gas prices are not keeping EV drivers down

Mar 4, 2022 | 4:52 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The Ferguson family is on to their second electric vehicle.

There are three reasons they went the EV route, including environmental purposes, operating costs and technology.

“It’s a pretty neat car,” said the dad, Rob Ferguson. “It’s kinda like an iPhone, they keep coming out with new updates and new technologies, it goes zero to 60 in about four seconds. It’s fun to drive, it’s a completely different driving experience.”

Rob drives a 2015 Tesla Model S but bought it used in 2020. Supply is sparse in Alberta so the Fergusons had to order it from a dealership in Toronto.

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Rob couldn’t be happier with his purchase and says he’s never had to wait in line for gas since.

“We just plug it into the wall (in the garage),” Rob said. “It’s very, very slow but around Medicine Hat, I find I don’t use more than 50-60 kilometres of range in a day so that’s fine and it’s very, very inexpensive.”

Using a charging station, like Flo in the Medicine Hat Mall parking lot, only takes one to two hours to fully charge.

As gas prices reach record levels, Rob just gets more and more questions about his electric car.

“The number one question I get asked is the range,” Rob said. “Funny enough people don’t really ask about the cost, they seem to be more interested in how far will it go can you actually drive it in the winter.”

When fully charged, his range is 450 kilometres under perfect conditions.

But Rob is also saving a lot of money.

The amount of money Rob Ferguson saves driving his Tesla vs Honda Odyssey

When filling up the family’s Honda Odyssey when gas costs $1.50 a litre, it equates to 15 cents per kilometre. But for the Tesla, it costs 12 cents per kilowatt an hour, equating to three cents per kilometre.

“When you look at switching to an electric vehicle, you spend a lot less in total,” William York, director of the Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta said.

York says every time oil and gas prices increase, it leads to more EV sales but Alberta only has about 3,500 of them on the road.

“There’s definitely a gap in the EV market in terms of vehicle size,” York said. “Right now, middle-size and large-size SUVs, as well as trucks, are underrepresented in electric vehicle offerings. So that’s partly what’s holding back Albertans from adopting electric vehicles.”

While there are federal incentives for those buying electric vehicles, there isn’t an Alberta incentive too unlike in other provinces.

In the future, Rob thinks more people will turn electric. He knows it’s been a great choice for his family.

“It’s been a neat lifestyle change for us,” Rob said.