During this busy and beautiful summer month, we were fortunate to speak with Roy Berentsen, Sales Manager at Harris Kia in Nanaimo. We are grateful to have Harris Kia as one of the Presenting Sponsors for the 2019 Eco Living and Home Tour!
Harris Kia was one of the early adopters of electric vehicles (EVs) on Vancouver Island. Over the years, it has supported communities like Salt Spring Island and Gabriola Island with regard to free charging stations and education around hybrid and electric vehicles.
Incentives! Roy confirmed something that many of you may already know. The federal and provincial rebates for EVs has created a massive increase in EV sales. Consumers are moving away from the hybrid models towards fully electric cars. The two provinces that have had the highest incentives for purchasing new and used EVs are BC and Quebec; not surprisingly, those two provinces have also had the most EV sales. There’s a direct correlation!
Trends in EV sales? Roy thinks that the government will continue to beproactive rather than reactive. Although the federal and provincial government have a mandate to lower the carbon footprint, he doesn’t think the government rebates will increase. He does think, however, that EV sales will continue to grow, especially as everyone he talks to has the price of gas on their mind.
Need more incentive? You can trade in your gas-powered vehicle to Harris Kia and if you have a particularly nasty high-polluting vehicle, you can probably get additional incentives because Harris Kia has a partnership with the BC SCRAP IT program!
The learning piece: All of the sales staff and technicians at Harris Kia have had comprehensive training by Kia Canada regarding EVs. To be able to sell EVs, dealerships have to make a substantial investment on education, training, tools, and hardware. That means you can walk into Harris Kia and have an immediate educational experience with any of the sales staff.
Why shop at Harris Kia? Harris Kia’s MO is “when you take of your community, your community takes care of you.” Harris Kia is one of the last remaining bastions of local, family-owned car dealerships. It supports local charities and initiatives.
Recently, Harris Kia began stocking FLO home chargers. Roy said that because these are a 100% Canadian product — every last piece is Canadian made including the aluminum made to produce the chargers — they want to sell these charging stations. He added, “It’s important to us to support Canadian people and products.”
With these kinds of values, it’s no wonder that Harris Kia is one of the few Platinum award-winning dealers within Kia Canada. Just to qualify for the award, a dealership has to be in top 3% of Kia dealers in the world with regard to how it does its business.
Got your ticket? Buy your tickets for the Eco Living and Home Tour at Salt Spring Books or online at Eventbrite. The Tour takes place on July 28th from 10am to 4pm. Maps will be available at Salt Spring Books on Thursday, July 25.