Electrify Canada and Canadian Tire announced a partnership that will bring EV charging to 90 Canadian Tire locations by the end of 2020. The collaboration will make Canadian Tire one of the largest retail networks of high-speed EV charging stations in all of Canada.

Back in October, we reported that Electrify Canada an Canadian Tire were partnering to install 32 DC fast-charge stations at 20 Canadian Tire locations. Evidently that wasn't enough and the partners have decided to now up the ante. Under the new agreement, 90 Canadian Tire locations will host a total of 240 DC fast-charge stations and 55 level 2 units. 

“Automotive is a heritage business for Canadian Tire and we have always evolved to meet the needs of drivers. With our premium real estate assets, we are able to provide convenient locations across the nation to service the growing number of EV vehicles in Canada,” said Andrew Davies, Senior Vice President, Automotive, Canadian Tire Retail.

Electrify Canada
Canadian Tire's map of locations that will have high-speed EV charging stations from the Electrify Canada network

We love the fact that we keep reporting news of additional high-speed charging locations. It was only a few years ago that there were very few DC chargers in all of North America, and none (other than Tesla's Superchargers) could deliver more than 50 kW. Now it seems like we're announcing hundreds of more stations coming online every couple weeks. 

Electrify Canada Pricing

On the negative side, we've heard our fair share of comments that are highly critical of Electrify Canada's pricing structure. Electrify Canada's pricing is time-based, just as Electrify America's is. However, Electrify Canada's per-minute pricing is 10% to 12% more expensive than the Electrify America pricing, and a lot of customers here in the US complain about that pricing, so I'm sure many of our friends up north aren't too pleased about the pricing either.

Eventually, we believe Electrify America and Electrify Canada will lower their pricing as utilization increases, and perhaps switch from per minute to per kWh pricing, something many users have called for. The recent news that California is mandating per kWh pricing, although it will be phased in over time, will undoubtedly force these Electrify America to rethink their pricing structure, and that could change how Electrify Canada operates also. 

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Canadian Tire to Host One of the Largest Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Networks in Canada

90 Canadian Tire locations to be equipped with fast charging stations

TORONTO, January 15, 2020 – Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (TSX:CTC, TSX:CTC.A) (CTC) announced today that 90 of its retail locations will host electric vehicle (EV) fast charging stations by the end of 2020. These stations will make CTC one of the largest retail networks of EV fast charging stations in the country. Working together with FLO, Electrify Canada, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), and Tesla, a total of 240 fast chargers and 55 Level 2 chargers will be installed at Canadian Tire locations.

“Automotive is a heritage category for Canadian Tire and we have always evolved to meet the needs of drivers. With our premium real estate assets, we are able to provide convenient locations across the nation to service the growing number of EV vehicles in Canada,” said Andrew Davies, Senior Vice President, Automotive, Canadian Tire Retail.

The popularity of electric vehicles is on the rise. According to Electric Mobility Canada, record numbers of Canadian drivers continued to adopt electric vehicles in the third quarter of 2019, with sales increasing 25% year-over-year. In recognition of this growth, Canadian Tire’s assortment includes tires, wipers, and brakes products for 90% of electric and hybrid vehicles registered in Canada.  

”We are proud to be working with a retailer like Canadian Tire to help bring EV mobility to drivers across Canada,” said Rob Barrosa, Chief Operating Officer, Electrify Canada. “This collaboration has been a natural fit from the very beginning – from the values Canadian Tire holds as an organization to the many convenient locations across the country. We are optimistic our efforts will only further the adoption of electric vehicles by all Canadians.”

“FLO is particularly excited to see its collaboration with Canadian Tire reach another important milestone. Our common goal to help accelerate the adoption of EVs in Canada is now translating into a major extension of our network, bringing convenient and reliable charging solutions to more Canadians, at over 50 Canadian Tire locations across the country. We are pleased to work with other organisations involved in this project and committed to exploring new opportunities to enable roaming between networks, providing EV drivers with even more charging options and a simplified navigational experience,” said Louis Tremblay, CEO, FLO.

“The move towards more zero emission vehicles is an integral part of our transition to a clean energy future. Our government is proud to support Canadian Tire’s network of EV fast chargers,” said the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. “We are giving Canadians cleaner choices on the road by investing in infrastructure from coast-to-coast.”

NRCan provided $2.7 million to Canadian Tire for 54 fast-chargers under its Electric Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Deployment Initiative. In 2016, they also provided $1.3 million to AddÉnergie for 28 fast-chargers at Canadian Tire locations.

“Canadian Tire is a proud Canadian company committed to addressing the challenges of climate change throughout our operations, including by offering a wide assortment of energy saving products. The network of EV fast chargers that we are creating, with the support of partners like FLO, Electrify Canada and Tesla, is another example of how we are helping customers reduce their environmental footprints,” said Robyn Collver, Chief Climate Officer, Canadian Tire Corporation.

ABOUT CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited, (TSX: CTC.A) (TSX: CTC) or "CTC", is a family of businesses that includes a Retail segment, a Financial Services division and CT REIT. Our retail business is led by Canadian Tire, which was founded in 1922 and provides Canadians with products for life in Canada across its Living, Playing, Fixing, Automotive and Seasonal & Gardening divisions. PartSource and Gas+ are key parts of the Canadian Tire network. The Retail segment also includes Mark's, a leading source for casual and industrial wear; Pro Hockey Life, a hockey specialty store catering to elite players; SportChek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts, National Sports, Intersport and Atmosphere, which offer the best active wear brands; and Party City Canada, a leading, one-stop shopping destination for party supplies and seasonal celebrations. The more than 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets are supported and strengthened by CTC’s Financial Services division and the tens of thousands of people employed across Canada and around the world by the Company and its local dealers, franchisees and petroleum retailers. In addition, CTC owns and operates Helly Hansen, a leading global brand in sportswear and workwear based in Oslo, Norway. For more information, visit Corp.CanadianTire.ca.

ABOUT ELECTRIFY CANADA

Electrify Canada was established in July 2018.Electrify Canada’s goal is to promote greater Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) adoption by building a transformative, ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) direct current (DC) charging infrastructure that gives Canadians the speed and reliability to confidently make the switch to electric. For more information, visit: electrify-canada.ca

ABOUT FLO

FLO is a leading North American charging network for electric vehicles and a major provider of smart charging software and equipment. Since its founding, FLO and its parent company, AddEnergie have supported close to 3.5M charging events and enabled the transfer of 29M kWh of electricity. FLO’s headquarters and network operations centre are based in Quebec City. AddEnergie's assembly plant, located in Shawinigan (Quebec), has produced 25,000 high-quality, Canadian-made stations for public, commercial and residential use. The company also has regional offices in Montreal (Quebec), Mississauga (Ontario), Vancouver (British Columbia) and Rochester (New York). For more information, visit flo.com.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For Canadian Tire inquiries, contact:

Joscelyn Dosanjh

Phone: 416-845-8392

Email: joscelyn.dosanjh@cantire.com

 

For Electrify Canada inquiries, contact:

Cassandra Ward, Zeno Group

Phone: 647-218-9210

Email: cassandra.ward@zenogroup.com

 

For FLO inquiries, contact:

Sylvain Bouffard

Phone: 438-830-0482

Email: sbouffard@flo.com

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