Can Veemo
Replace Your
Second Car?

Here's a question more Canadians are asking in 2026: do we actually need that second car? Not the first one — the backup. The one parked in the driveway most days, costing you money whether you drive it or not. Insurance. Gas. Maintenance. Depreciation. It all adds up to a number most people have never actually sat down and calculated.

The Veemo SE is a semi-enclosed electric trike that rides in bike lanes, fits anywhere a bicycle does, requires no insurance in most provinces, and costs around $25 a month to run — all in. For a large segment of Canadian households, it genuinely covers what a second car does every day. This post runs the real numbers. If you're also weighing a conventional urban commuter e-bike, we cover that comparison further below.

What a Second Car Actually Costs in Canada

Canadians consistently underestimate the true cost of car ownership — because most of the costs don't arrive in one bill. They're spread across fuel, insurance renewals, oil changes, registration, and the slow bleed of depreciation. When you add it all up for a typical used second car, here's what the monthly picture looks like:

That's a difference of roughly $809 every single month. The Veemo's $25/month running cost (electricity + maintenance) is impressively low — the only other meaningful cost is the amortized purchase price, which at $9,799 spread over five years works out to around $163/month. Total Veemo cost: ~$188/month all-in.

No insurance renewal. No oil change appointments. No fuel price anxiety. No parking meter. No ICBC, Intact, or Aviva bill arriving every six months. The Veemo is built by ENVO Drive, a Canadian EV manufacturer — which also means parts and service support are local.

How Much You'd Save Depends on Where You Live

Car insurance rates vary dramatically across Canada — which means your savings from ditching a second car vary too. Ontario drivers pay the highest insurance in the country. Quebec drivers pay the lowest. Here's how the math shifts by province, assuming the same base car costs with provincial insurance averages for 2025:

Even in Quebec — Canada's cheapest province for car insurance — the second car replacement saving is over $740 a month. In Ontario, it's over $825. Across every province, the financial case is overwhelming. If you're in BC and want to explore the full electric bike and e-vehicle lineup available through EbikeBC, including Veemo configurations, the options have never been broader.

The Five-Year Cost Comparison

Over five years, the average second car costs a Canadian household nearly $60,000. A Veemo SE, including purchase, electricity, and maintenance, costs just over $10,999 for the same period. The difference — nearly $49,000 — is real, spendable money that currently disappears into depreciation, fuel, and insurance premiums every year. For a deeper look at how to think about e-vehicle range and running costs, ENVO's range guide is a useful reference.

What Does a Second Car Actually Get Used For?

Before deciding if Veemo can replace yours, it helps to be honest about how most second cars are actually used in Canada. Research consistently shows that the majority of second-car trips are short, solo, and urban — exactly the conditions where Veemo performs best. For households where a full e-bike would cover some trips and Veemo others, see EbikeBC's guide on the best urban electric bikes for 2025.

Where Veemo Can't Replace a Car (Yet)

This wouldn't be an honest guide without acknowledging the real limits. Veemo is a car alternative for the majority of second-car use — not all of it. For trips or use cases where a two-wheeled option might suit better, EbikeBC's e-bike buyer's guide covers everything from cargo bikes to folders.

For the vast majority of Canadian households, these limits describe only a minority of actual second-car trips. The commute, the grocery run, the school pickup, the gym — those are the everyday trips Veemo handles completely. The highway trip to the cottage happens far less often.

So, can Veemo replace your second car? For daily commutes, errands, school runs, and short urban trips — which account for the overwhelming majority of second-car use in Canada — the answer for most households is a clear yes. You'd be trading roughly $1,000 a month in costs for $25. You'd be freeing up $52,000 over five years. You'd be arriving at work without a parking bill, a fuel receipt, or an insurance renewal waiting in your inbox. And if you want to compare how this stacks up against simply switching to a commuter e-bike, EbikeBC's buying guide and ENVO's commuter e-bike breakdown are both solid starting points.

The question isn't really whether Veemo can replace a second car. The question is why you'd keep paying for one.

Calculate Your Own Savings

The numbers above are Canadian averages. Enter your own real costs below to see exactly what you'd save by switching to Veemo.