As the automotive industry attempts to recover from the COVID-19 lockdown, we’ve found bad news and worse news for prospective electric car owners.

For a start, there still isn’t sufficient supply of EVs getting into Canada to meet consumer demand. According to a report prepared for Transport Canada by Montreal-based Dunsky Energy Consulting, just one in three Canadian car dealers had an electric vehicle in stock in the first half of February 2020 (before the pandemic prompted showrooms to close for two months). That figure fell to less than 20% outside of Quebec, B.C. and Ontario, with an average of two- to three-month wait times. “That means many Canadians struggle to find an EV to test drive, let alone buy,” Clean Energy Canada said in a statement.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a swift and profound effect on the automotive industry, but early signs point to the electric vehicle category weathering the storm on firm footing. While work-from-home orders and extended assembly-plant closures have caused some product delays and cancellations, relatively few of those have been EV projects. Stringent emissions requirements are holding firm in China and Europe, and sales targets remain in place closer to home: Canada is just one of the nations aiming to have 10% of new-vehicle sales be zero-emission vehicles by 2025 and 100% by 2040. These pressures are thus far focusing automaker attention firmly on advancing EV technology and its adoption.