As the number of electric and hybrid vehicles on Canadian roads continues to rise, an AIA Canada report analyzes public expectations in this rapidly expanding sector.
By conducting this year’s study, Data and Diagnostics: Inside the Minds of Canadian EV Owners, AIA Canada struck a chord. The clear increase in EVs and hybrids in Canada—and especially in Quebec, where nearly one out of every two Canadian EV owners resides—brings both challenges and opportunities to the automotive maintenance and repair industry. Based on 2,210 respondents, including 581 Quebecers, this national profile highlights behaviors and expectations that are already redefining the automotive service market.
A Highly Lucrative Market
The report first highlights that the target clientele, consisting of EV and hybrid owners, is financially very attractive. On average, they enjoy a higher household income than owners of non-electric cars, own an average of 1.8 vehicles per household, and place a higher priority on repairs. However, service providers still need to win over this profitable customer base, which is not yet the case.
Heavy Reliance on Dealerships
Even though the opportunity in the EV and hybrid sector is very real, consumers currently place less trust in independent repair shops. What are the reasons behind this mistrust?
First, the report shows that “EV owners place greater importance on vehicle technology and are more likely to describe themselves as interested in understanding the built-in technologies of their vehicles.”
Backing this up with numbers, the study indicates that roughly 86% of those surveyed have a strong interest in the onboard technologies of their EVs. They are tech-savvy, but because of this same technological complexity, 57% of them are more tempted to turn to their manufacturer’s network to have their vehicles repaired. In other words, the more advanced the vehicle technology, the more dependent the customer feels on dealerships.
Telematics Data: A Critical Challenge
In addition to EV owners having a more positive perception of dealerships when it comes to mastering onboard vehicle technologies, they are also more likely to trust them with managing their data.
The report effectively states that respondents are “more likely to be aware that independent shops cannot access telematics data in the same way manufacturers can.”
In fact, barely 20% of EV and hybrid owners know that independent professionals can also access this data to diagnose and repair their vehicles. This communication gap explains why they are more accepting of the control exercised by manufacturers.
However, Quebec’s right-to-repair law, which notably forces manufacturers to provide parts, tools, and information to repair devices, could shift the balance, as could the digital sovereignty issues that already concern Quebecers.
An Urgent Need for Training and Communication
The EV and hybrid market is no longer an emerging one. It is established, demanding, and rapidly transforming. Repair shops that can demonstrate their technological competence, their ability to work with data, and their transparency regarding parts will have a head start, according to the report’s findings: “The ways in which a shop can demonstrate its mastery of technology […] could impact customer perception,” it states.
Concluding its analysis, the document includes several key recommendations: urgently roll out training in EV diagnostics, position oneself as a technological expert, and showcase a competitive advantage in data management and advanced systems. Meeting these conditions will be vital for the automotive maintenance and repair sector to thrive in the years to come.