Hundreds of cars but not a drop of gasoline at Montreal's Gilles Villeneuve racetrack Saturday, as the site was jammed with electric vehicles in a major showcase.
The organizers had no shortage of ambitions in pushing their eco-friendly gas-less vehicles, shooting for five world records.
They hoped to topple the existing record for having a 412 plug-in cars assembled in one spot, as well as the record for largest parade of electric cars, which currently stands at 160.
Quebec is Canada's largest market for electric vehicles and home to over 5,000 such contraptions and organizers hope to force those numbers higher.
"We're lucky in Quebec, We have clean energy here. The more we use electric cars, the more we become independent in terms of energy," said Sylvain Castonguay Director of Innovative Vehicle Institute.
Marcel Guay, who promotes the Nissan Leaf, said that a typical gas car costs $1,500 to $2,000 per year to fuel up, while a car like the Leaf costs just $280 in electricity per year. Quebec offers rebates of around $8,000 to purchase a fully-electric vehicle, which means that a car like the Leaf can come in at an economical $24,000.
One shopper said that he's entranced by the allure of owning a fully-electric vehicle and gave a thumbs-up on the test ride.
"It was smooth. It was nice and quiet. The acceleration was quite good but other than that it was like any other car," said shopper John Vanderlip who said that he is still spending $50-$100 a month of gas on his hybrid, a total he wants to bring to zero. "It seems like an electric car makes a lot of sense."
Montreal will host the World Electric Vehicle Symposium next year.
