There is no BC sales tax on the purchase of a used electric vehicle provided that vehicle has been driven at least 6,000 km..
Applewood Nissan and Westwood Honda specialize in used electric vehicles. There is a comprehensive listing of used vehicles available at local and regional dealers as well as private sales at autotrader.ca.
While used electric vehicles going back to 2011 are available, the cost/benefit sweet spot is 2015 - 2017 models in the $20,000 - $25,000 range, particularly the Nissan Leaf, Kia Soul EV and BMW i3. Other 2015 - 2017 electric vehicles have generally been less reliable.
Be cautious when purchasing a model that was sold in the U.S., but not in Canada, and then a used vehicle was imported into Canada from the U.S. Servicing may be a problem.
The battery guages shown above of the Leaf (left) and Soul EV (right) show the battery capacity. When the vehicle is fully charged, all of the battery bars should be lit. If some of the bars at the top are not lit, then the battery capacity has been reduced and the range is correspondingly less.
Make sure the vehicle has a level 3 fast charging port as shown above on the left for the Leaf (level 2 charging port on the right). This was optional on some 2015 - 2017 models. It should also be capable of 6.6 kW or 7.4 kW level 2 charging. Some models only have 3.3 kW charging which doubles the required charge time. In the Nissan Leaf, availability of these features varies for the S base model and SV mid-level model as shown below. They are always standard for the top level SL model.
Further information on factors affecting range as well as operating cost, home charging, the electric driving experience and environmental benefits can be found on our Detailed Information page.
Dealers Detailed Information New VehiclesListed alphabetically. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate data, there is no liability for errors that may occur. Information important to you should be verified with other sources.
| Vehicle | Battery Size | Level 3 Charge Port | 6.6 / 7.4 kW Charger | Electric Range | Total Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 BMW i3 (2015 - 2016) |
22 kWh | Standard | Standard | 130 km | 130 km |
BMW i3 (2015 - 2016) with range extender gas engine |
22 kWh | Standard | Standard | 116 km | 241 km |
BMW i3 (2017) |
33 kWh | Standard | Standard | 184 km | 184 km |
BMW i3 (2017) with range extender gas engine |
33 kWh | Standard | Standard | 156 km | 290 km |
 Kia Soul EV (2015 - 2017) |
30.5 kWh | Standard | Standard | 150 km | 150 km |
 Nissan Leaf (2015) |
24 kWh | S = Optional SV = Optional SL = Standard |
S = Optional SV = Standard SL = Standard |
135 km | 135 km |
Nissan Leaf (2016) |
S = 24 kWh SV = 30 kWh SL = 30 kWh |
S = Optional SV = Standard SL = Standard |
S = Optional SV = Standard SL = Standard |
S = 135 km SV = 172 km SV = 172 km |
S = 135 km SV = 172 km SV = 172 km |
Nissan Leaf (2017) |
30 kWh | S = Optional SV = Standard SL = Standard |
S = Optional SV = Standard SL = Standard |
172 km | 172 km |
Level 3 charging refers to DC fast charging capability which is either standard or available as an extra cost upgrade option. In addition to slow 120V charging capability from a normal wall outlet, all of the above vehicles have a Level 2 charging connector that requires access to a 240V charging unit. Information on different types of charging is available here.
Range is for a combination of city and highway driving as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA rating) or the estimated EPA rating announced by the manufacturer for vehicles not yet available. EPA ratings are averaged for a wide range of environmental conditions. Richmond drivers should achieve increased range due to our ideal environmental conditions for electric vehicles. For highway only driving at higher speeds, there is a detailed discussion of range requirements here.
