Electrify Canada, the Canadian offshoot of electric vehicle charging initiative Electrify America, has announced that it will launch at 20 Canadian Tire locations in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.
The Electrify Canada charging stations are 150 to 350-kilowatt (kW) DC fast chargers and will be compatible with EVs that use a CCS or CHAdeMO outlet. This makes them compatible with electric vehicles from all manufacturers, making the roll out a major step toward the large-scale adoption of electric vehicles in Canada.
“Canadian Tire is one of Canada’s most recognizable and trusted retailers, making this collaboration a natural fit,” Electrify Canada CEO Rob Barrosa said in a prepared statement. “We are thrilled to be entering into a relationship with a company that has strong Canadian roots and shares the same values and core beliefs of providing convenience and reliability of services to users."
Electrify Canada is in-part funded by Volkswagen Group Canada. The German automaker agreed to set up charging grids in the U.S. and Canada as part of its efforts to offset vehicle emissions in the wake of the diesel scandal.
In case you need reminding, VW was found to have programmed its TDI engines to only its activate emissions control software when they were being tested in a lab, with the vehicles emitting up to 40 times more greenhouse gas emissions when being driven in the real world. This software was employed in more than 11 million vehicles worldwide.
The first Electrify Canada charging stations will be available for EV drivers to use later this year. The company has not specified which Canadian Tire locations will first feature the charging stations, though as we mentioned earlier in the article, they will appear at store locations in Ontario, B.C., Alberta and Quebec.
