Electric-vehicle charging costs can look simple until a road trip puts different vehicles on the same fast charger. CAA’s 2026 EV Circuit found a striking spread: among vehicles with comparable recorded charging costs, adding 100 kilometres of displayed range cost as little as $7.28 for a Tesla Model 3 and as much as $24.39 for a GMC HUMMER EV SUV.
That figure needs an important qualification. CAA measured the cost per 100 kilometres of displayed range added during a standardized public fast-charging test, not the typical cost of driving an EV 100 kilometres over an entire year. The test deliberately represented a relatively expensive road-trip charging scenario. Still, the results expose something increasingly important for EV shoppers: battery size and advertised range tell only part of the ownership story.
CAA Put 22 EVs Through the Same Real-World Route
CAA conducted its EV Circuit on September 16, 2026, sending 22 electric vehicles over the same 230-kilometre route from Blue Mountain to Vaughan, Ontario. The drive included city streets, rural roads and highways, giving the test more real-world variation than a simple laboratory cycle. Every vehicle completed the route without needing to stop for a recharge, including the model with the shortest advertised range. Across the group, the vehicles used an average of roughly 40 per cent of their available battery charge during the trip.
After the drive, CAA subjected the vehicles to a standardized 15-minute charging session. That second part of the test proved especially revealing. Modern EVs increasingly offer enough total range for an ordinary intercity journey, but they do not necessarily recover kilometres at the same speed or cost once they reach a fast charger. For families planning vacation drives or people regularly travelling between cities, those differences can become more noticeable than the headline range printed on a specification sheet.
The Fast-Charging Price Gap Was More Than Threefold
The Tesla Model 3 produced the lowest recorded cost in CAA’s comparison at $7.28 for every 100 kilometres of displayed range added. The Model Y followed at $8.23, while the Nissan LEAF came in at $10.13, Kia EV4 at $10.25 and Hyundai IONIQ 5 at $10.68. At the other end, the GMC HUMMER EV SUV reached $24.39, followed by the Chevrolet Silverado EV at $19.05, Rivian R1T at $17.85, Tesla Cybertruck at $15.61 and Volkswagen ID. Buzz at $15.48.
CAA reported that the average 15-minute charging session itself cost $13.45. The vehicles were charged at Tesla stations to make the charging environment more consistent, but CAA cautioned that Tesla vehicles received preferred pricing there. Two other results also require context: the Lucid Gravity’s charging session was free, so CAA did not publish a comparable charging-cost figure, while the Polestar 4 encountered a charging complication and did not complete that portion of the test. Those details make the $7.28-to-$24.39 spread useful, but not a universal ranking of every EV’s charging expenses.
Efficiency Helps Explain Why Identical Kilometres Can Cost Differently
A central lesson from the test is that a kilowatt-hour does not carry every vehicle the same distance. CAA recorded energy consumption ranging from just 11.43 kWh per 100 kilometres for the Toyota bZ to 28.91 kWh per 100 kilometres for the Lucid Gravity. The Tesla Model Y used 11.81 kWh/100 km, the Model 3 consumed 11.85 and the Kia EV4 recorded 11.89. At the higher end were the HUMMER EV SUV at 23.55 kWh/100 km and Cybertruck at 23.41.
That efficiency gap matters because public charging combines two variables: how much electricity a vehicle needs and what the charging provider charges for delivering it. A heavy, less efficient vehicle generally needs more energy to recover the same amount of usable driving range. Charger pricing can widen the difference further. The International Energy Agency notes that public fast charging can carry a substantial premium over residential electricity. Consequently, two vehicles plugged into high-powered equipment for similar periods can leave with very different costs per kilometre of added range.
Fifteen Minutes Added Anywhere From 58 to 178 Kilometres
Charging speed produced another unusually wide spread. CAA found that the 22 vehicles added an average of about 110 kilometres of displayed range during the standardized 15-minute stop, and nearly two-thirds added at least 100 kilometres. The Lucid Gravity topped the test at 178 kilometres, while the Hyundai IONIQ 5 added 136 and the Mercedes-Benz CLA with EQ Technology gained 135. Cadillac’s LYRIQ reached 131 kilometres and the Nissan LEAF added 126.
At the lower end, the Lucid Air gained 58 kilometres, the Chevrolet Equinox EV 71, Silverado EV 80 and HUMMER EV SUV 90. Those figures should not be treated as permanent charging specifications. CAA noted that battery temperature, starting state of charge, the charger itself and operating conditions can influence the result. Its detailed findings also state that not every vehicle entered the charger at its ideal battery level for peak charging. For a road-trip driver, however, the practical point remains: advertised battery capacity alone says surprisingly little about how productive a 15-minute coffee stop will be.
These Numbers Are Not Typical Home-Charging Costs
The largest risk in interpreting the CAA findings is treating $7.28 to $24.39 as the everyday cost of operating these EVs. CAA explicitly designed this portion of the Circuit as a higher-cost road-trip scenario using premium public fast chargers. Most Canadian EV owners do not obtain most of their electricity that way. CAA’s driver research indicates that more than 80 per cent of charging is generally done at home, with its 2024 study finding that battery-electric drivers obtained 66 per cent of their battery-driven kilometres from Level 2 home charging and another 15 per cent from Level 1.
That distinction can dramatically change the economics. Home electricity is normally sold at regulated or residential utility rates rather than with the commercial markup required to install, maintain and operate high-powered roadside charging infrastructure. The International Energy Agency similarly identifies home charging as the preferred option where available because of its affordability and convenience, while noting that public fast charging can cost substantially more. A household with nightly driveway charging may therefore have a very different annual energy bill from an apartment resident who relies heavily on public DC chargers.
Canadian Winter Conditions Can Change the Equation Again
September weather also gave the 2026 Circuit an advantage that should not be ignored when thinking about year-round Canadian driving. CAA said the September group consumed approximately 40 per cent less energy on average than the vehicles evaluated during its February 2025 winter test. The newer group also added about 15 per cent more displayed range during its charging session. CAA cautioned that different vehicles and conditions were involved, so the two events are not a controlled head-to-head comparison, but the contrast reinforces the importance of temperature.
The earlier winter test was conducted in temperatures ranging from roughly -7 C to -15 C. Its vehicles travelled 14 to 39 per cent less than their official range, and CAA found substantial variation in cold-weather charging performance as well. Laboratory research cited by the U.S. Department of Energy reaches the same general conclusion: cabin heating demands and temperature-related battery effects increase energy consumption in cold conditions. That means a fast-charging result recorded on a mild September road trip should not automatically be expected during a February highway run through Ontario, Quebec or the Prairies.
The Public Charging Network Is Growing, Making Price Differences More Important
Fast-charging economics matter more as Canada’s network expands and more drivers gain multiple charging options along major routes. Transport Canada’s EV dashboard, updated in August 2026 with data through March 31, counted 39,220 public chargers nationwide. Of those, 30,741 were Level 2 chargers and 8,479 were Level 3. That was up from 38,364 total chargers at the end of 2025 and 25,813 in 2023, illustrating how quickly the network has been expanding.
Federal spending is also continuing. Natural Resources Canada said in February that more than 30,000 chargers had already been installed with support from the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program, while another round of funding was expected to support more than 8,000 chargers. Greater availability does not necessarily mean uniform pricing, however. Networks can have different rates, membership arrangements and charging speeds, while the vehicle itself controls how much power it can accept at different battery levels. As charging choices multiply, checking the station price may become as routine for EV road-trippers as comparing gasoline signs has long been for conventional drivers.
Buyers May Need to Compare Three Numbers Instead of One
For years, EV comparisons have centred on one highly visible number: maximum driving range. CAA’s results suggest a more useful road-trip comparison involves at least three measurements — energy consumption in kWh/100 km, kilometres recovered during a short fast-charging stop and the price of obtaining those kilometres on the networks a driver expects to use. A vehicle with enormous battery capacity may offer reassuring total range while still consuming considerably more electricity and costing more to replenish away from home.
There is also no single charging figure that captures every ownership situation. A commuter who drives modest distances and plugs into a garage every night may rarely care what a premium DC charger costs. Someone without home charging, or a family making frequent cross-province trips, can experience a very different cost structure. CAA’s own charging guidance recommends considering access to home charging, long-distance needs and charging-network availability before buying. The 2026 test therefore does more than identify a $7.28-to-$24.39 spread: it shows why the increasingly important EV question is not simply how far the battery goes, but how efficiently, quickly and economically those kilometres can be replaced.
