AudiTK

And for those who want to learn more about the Canadian "Super" chargers
https://electrek.co/2018/07/23/vw-electrify-canada-new-network-ultra-fast-charging-stations/

After forming ‘Electrify America’ last year in order to comply with their settlement with the EPA and CARB over the Dieselgate scandal, Volkswagen set out to make a large investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the US.=leftNow Volkswagen is now doing the same in Canada with a new subsidiary called ‘Electrify Canada’. The German automaker announced this week the formation of the new subsidiary that will “build an ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) direct current (DC) charging network across Canada, which is anticipated to be operational starting in the second quarter of 2019.”

Daniel Weissland, president and CEO of Volkswagen Group Canada, commented on the announcement:

Quote:

The Canadian electric vehicle market is growing, creating a great need for charging that is fast, convenient and available in key locations. We are thrilled to be able to offer this service and to take a leadership position in providing this key EV adoption enabler to the Canadian market.

They plan to deploy the same ‘ultra-fast’ 150kW to 350kW charging stations with CCS and CHAdeMO plugs as they are currently deploying in the US.

That said, the size of the network is much less ambitious than the one in the US. They are planning an “initial phase” of “32 EV charging sites near major highways and in major metro areas in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec.”

Earlier this year, VW’s Electrify America unveiled their charging stations with new suppliers and they include options with charging capacities up to 350 kW, like this one in Virginia.

They also started opening some of their ultra-fast EV charging stations and they announced several partners for locations, including Walmart and Target.

NightA4

I was glad to hear that in the announcement, however there are zero details on Electrify Canada, other than a media release in July,
- Where are these 32 sites? are they just to connect between Electrify America sites (ie 401/403 to connect Michigan to NY?)
-Why Alberta? It's not a big province in EV sales, unless they are trying to fill in a loop b/w Calgary/Jasper/BC border

The other thing I think I saw in the media release is that most sites have 4 chargers, so these are 1/2 the size of a small Supercharger site.

No issue with the 30 min charging on the Electrify Canada network, if these are in fact 150+ kW, it'll fill etron/taycan just fine. just hope the 4 spots aren't filled with cars that can only take 50kW
The 2 year period seems stingy, could at least make it match the 4 year warranty / roadside assistance period. Would be nice if it also extended to the Electrify America network.
Also If you get an early etron in Spring I can't imagine many of the 32 stations will be operational, so the first 1/4 to 1/2 of the period may have little usage.

AudiTK

I didn't look at the sales numbers for EV sales in Alberta, but as someone who lives here I can say that there is a significant number of EV cars on the road and that subjectively it seems there is more and more added at a very brisk pace. My speculation is that that even if the total units of EV sales are "lower" the directional or growth numbers might be high enough to justify it. Either way, I don't care why they are adding stations here, it needs to happen - glad it is happening. If the chargers are here, no excuse to not buy EV's!

I agree with your concerns about the 30 min charges - it might be fine, but we will have to see. Also, yes early delivery's will be potentially loosing out on some of the benefits. I plan to charge mine at home (and slow over night) and likely not even use a super charger. This is a city car for me as I will still have a Q7 in the garage... not much is going to be within the range of the Etron for me in the winter's here.

Overall, glad they are doing it... but I wish someone like "esso" would build super chargers at gas stations that are universal for all EV cars... I will admit I don't know enough about the charger station models yet, but even tesla should allow non Tesla cars to charge there for a fee (reasonable). I like the idea of anyone car use the chargers for any brand better then this brand aligned charger model. Like the cell phone companies in Canada were legislated to allow you to make 911 calls from any available carrier - why should someone die on the side of the road because they choose telus and good rogers coverage wasn't available... chargers should be available to anyone... Maybe tesla will take the high road and do that, and turn that into a profit center for them also?