All EV Canada, a used EV service and sales company, is a prime example of a multifaceted business that innovates to meet the needs of a transforming industry

Looking to buy a used electric vehicle? Or to have your EV repaired? If you live in the Halifax area, you’re in luck, thanks to a new firm called All EV Canada. 

As its name suggests, the company takes on a number of roles in the world of used electric vehicles. Much of their business comes from acquiring electric vehicles with minor collision damage, refurbishing them, and reselling them to the public at reasonable prices. The company also sells electric vehicle parts.

More unexpectedly, it also trains Halifax first responders in the nuts and bolts of working safely with EVs, especially during emergencies like crashes. That’s all in addition to being the first major EV service centre to open in Atlantic Canada that isn’t run by an automaker. 

As the transport world prepares for a historic shift towards electrification, businesses that work to serve multiple consumer needs will likely continue to arise. All EV aims to be at the forefront of that trend. 

All EV is led by CEO Jeff Farwell, who had previously been the chief executive of a large tourism company in the Halifax area. Farwell founded the company along with vice president David Giles, who has been involved with the automotive industry for over two decades and had previously worked as a training facilitator at Nova Scotia Community College. The company now operates out of an 8,500 square foot facility in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, just outside of Halifax. 

Building the used market

Thousands of firms across Canada sell used cars; it’s a known business. But “it’s a different world when you go electric versus gas-powered,” Jeff Farwell, CEO of All EV Canada told Electric Autonomy.

Electric vehicles often come with a higher sticker price than their gas counterparts, especially in provinces like Nova Scotia, that don’t offer provincial purchase incentives. As such, the more robust the used-EV market becomes, the easier it is for shoppers to consider going electric. 

“Part of what we’re doing is educating people,” said Farwell, “and understanding that they need to be educated first, before they [can] make the decision to buy a car.”

All EV has been met with a growing demand for used electric vehicles. As of March, the company has purchased 23 EVs for sales, parts and education, 14 of them Tesla Model 3s.  

“Using the entire car”

Selling used EV parts, according to Farwell, resulted naturally from their vehicle-refurbishing business. Often, All EV buys wrecked vehicles with damage severe enough to prevent them from being refurbished and sold. Still, some sections of the car may not have been affected at all, offering the opportunity to salvage and resell key components.

Some of those parts are used in repairing cars with only minor damage. Others are usually resold individually whether locally, or sold and shipped to customers internationally via their online store. What’s left of the vehicles is used as part of All EV’s education initiatives. 

“Globally, there is a demand; there aren’t that many used parts out there for EVs, but we have a lot,” says Farwell. “So we’re using the entire car and nothing’s going to waste.”

Teaching the industry

Along with selling cars and parts, All EV also devotes significant attention to educational initiatives that prepare crucial sectors for the shift towards electric vehicles.

The most noteworthy example is their First Responder Safety Awareness Program, which was established earlier this year. The program uses All EV’s store of damaged electric vehicles in order to teach first responders, including firefighters and paramedics, how to address potential electricity hazards when dealing with crashes involving electric vehicles. 

While David Giles, vice president of All EV, has taught such courses in Nova Scotia before, having fully electric vehicles on hand to show turns the theoretical into hands-on reality. 

“Teaching without having electric cars in front of you is hard,” says Farwell. “Now, if [first responders] go into a crash site, they’re going to feel way more confident cutting something or doing something to free somebody up. So it could save lives, is the end result.”

On the academic side of things, they’ve also provided battery packs to research institutions such as Dalhousie University to be used in a Natural Research Council project on second life EV battery energy storage.

Next, All EV is developing a course that would give officially certified car mechanics the training necessary to safely work with electric vehicles. 

“There’s a disconnect between [today’s] industry and getting [mechanics] the training they need to work on high- voltage vehicles.” says Farwell. “[The course] will help industry and customers choose where they want to get their work done and not have to be beholden to the OEMs.” 

Though All EV are fully up and running, they remain in the early stages – an official opening is still in the works. Despite that fact, they’re gearing up for a fully electrified future by keeping stock up to date and developing new curriculum to keep industry on the beat of technological advancement.