It seems that “Ice Road Truckers” will look cooler but sound a lot less dramatic in the future, thanks to electric semis.
Canada’s most populated province announced that it will offer purchasers of electric semi trucks a rebate on 60 percent of their purchase price up to CA$75,000 as part of the new Green Commercial Vehicle Program.
Since Tesla’s debut of its fully electric semi truck in November, the company has received hundreds of orders from large companies here in the US. This Canadian incentive plan could see many more electric semis, including ones from Chinese company BYD, convoying across the frozen North.
BYD is set to begin producing commercial EVs in Canada.
Speaking of BYD, the Warren Buffett-backed vehicle maker is set to open its first North American assembly facility in Canada, citing increased demand for battery electric commercial vehicles. While the BYD trucks will undoubtedly lack the flair of the Tesla semi, it will be interesting to see how they compare on a functional level, particularly in the severe winter weather conditions that are all too common in Canada.
What also remains to be seen is how heavily the Canadian government is willing to invest in the kind of fast-charging infrastructure that these vehicles will require. Taking a look at the Canadian Supercharger map shows that there is a lot of work to do in the near future.
