Plugged In

Facing the very real prospect of tumbling into outright irrelevance, storied marque Jaguar is rolling the dice on a complete transformation. The plan, with the first new model expected in late 2026, involves becoming a low-volume, high price, all-electric automaker going toe to toe with high-end automakers Bentley, Aston Martin and even Rolls-Royce.  On today’s episode of the Plugged In Podcast, David Booth, a lifelong Jaguar fan incidentally, questions not only the plan itself but more importantly, the timing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Battery degradation. Like range anxiety, charging infrastructure and cold-weather running, how long a new electric vehicle’s battery will last is one of the very real concerns would-be, first-time EV buyers have when considering to go all-electric. Battery degradation is a big deal. No one wants to see their range go from say, 400 kilometres to 300 kilometres during the life of their vehicle. On this week’s episode we’re diving into some real-world battery degradation data with Charlotte Argue, a senior manager with Geotab who recently wrote an extensive paper on the subject based on information compiled by the company over the last five years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the more contentious issues surrounding electric vehicles in Canada are so-called ZEV mandates, which sets target dates for EV sales. Several provinces have such mandates, including British Columbia and Quebec, but it is the federal government mandate that has really puts stakes in the ground.  As a reminder, Canada’s zero emission vehicle mandate requires automakers ensure that 20 per cent in 2026, 60 per cent in 2030 and 100 per cent in 2035 of their vehicles sold in Canada are ZEVs. The PBO report set out to find if other words are these ZEV targets are realistic.  The short answer, according to the report findings, is they are not. To discuss this and other issues — including Chinese EVs — is Global Automakers of Canada president David Adams, an industry expert specializes in analyzing the disruption and evolution of both the automobile and the automotive industry in Canada. That includes zero emission vehicles and their adoption as well as the regulatory environment necessary to support the adoption of automated and connected vehicles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Misinformation. Add that to hunger, thirst and war as existential threats to our survival. In this age of dubious news sources, weaponized artificial intelligence and bad state actors, society has never been so polarized.  That’s certainly true of the electric vehicle segment, where bogus studies from both sides of the issue muddy the waters and further confuse consumers. Our guest Dan Caesar, and the team he leads at Fully Charged and Everything Electric, has made it a career to provide honest reporting and balanced viewpoints to the pressing issue of sustainable living, driving and, well, existing.  We start off with a chat about the past, present and future of EVs then transition to discussing the upcoming Everything Electric Show, taking place in Vancouver in early September. And at the end of the episode, which marks the end of Season 8 of Plugged In, Andrew provides a code to get you 20 per cent off tickets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices