Abstract
The demand for gasoline in Canada, especially by light-duty vehicles, continues to increase with economic growth and development. Fossil fuel driven vehicles are not only creating financial strain due to fluctuating gas prices but are also polluting the environment and posing health risks to the community. In an effort to promote public awareness, this paper reviews hybrid vehicle technology as a logical step towards sustainable, efficient and environment friendly transportation and discusses the measures taken by the Canadian government to encourage hybrid vehicle sales and to minimize fossil fuel dependency of the transportation sector.
Highlights
With increasing awareness towards economic and environmental concerns associated with fuel combustion in automobiles, the world is focusing towards the development of sustainable technologies
With the world’s second largest oil reserves of 179 billion bbl [9] and a production rate of 3.3 million bbl per day [10] as shown in Table 1, Canada may not have to worry about the depletion of fuel reserves for decades, but dependence of its transport sector on fossil fuel is beginning to raise serious concerns as Canadians face the impact of worldwide oil price escalation
Battery replacement can cost two to three thousand dollars, most manufacturers offer 8-10 years/240,000 km warrantees and in coming years, with the progress in battery technology, this warrantee is expected to go up to vehicle life. Another reservation towards hybrid vehicles is their failure to deliver the fuel economy numbers verified by the Environment Protection Agency in the US or by EnerGuide labels in Canada
Summary
With increasing awareness towards economic and environmental concerns associated with fuel combustion in automobiles, the world is focusing towards the development of sustainable technologies. The transportation sector is one of the highest consumers of fossil fuels and the largest contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada with gasoline sales constituting 40% of the country’s total domestic petroleum sales [1] This oil dependency, light-duty vehicles, is responsible for a quarter of the total GHG emissions in the country and has become a source of economic stress with rising oil prices [2]. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) offer a fuelefficient solution that combines an electric motor based drivetrain with the conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) to reduce fuel consumption and vehicle emissions [3]-[5]. These HEV benefits have prompted the automakers to develop hybrid vehicles, most of which are available in Canada today. The policies, programs and incentives taken by the federal and provincial governments to promote sustainable transportation and to encourage the public to adopt this green technology are discussed in detail
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
