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Jack Scarlett, host of Everything Electric Show.

Photo courtesy Everything Electric Vancouver

Electric expert shares optimistic view of the future

By Jim Gordon and Leeta Liepins

Published 11:59 PDT, Fri September 12, 2025

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Jack Scarlett is a writer, comedian, motoring journalist and one of the hosts of the Everything Electric Show, the world's #1 EV and green energy media YouTube channel. Jack Scarlett joined Our City Tonight for an interview from North London.

OCT: One of the first things we really liked about your reviews of various vehicles is that you really do plain speak for those of us that are not car enthusiasts so that not only the expert obviously understands but so can the non-expert. I noticed that the word fun comes up a lot with you because the car you’re talking about has to have, in each instance, a component that is fun.

JS: I speak plainly because I’m a plain guy. If I have any talent at all, it is that I am a translator for very clever people to help them communicate to regular people about electric vehicles and everything that comes with them. For example, with electric vehicles things like kilowatt hours and charging speeds can be a bit daunting to people that aren’t in the know, so I think it’s very important that we just keep it simple as it’s not as complicated as it initially sounds.

OCT: One other thing that you do that I love, is that you’re also old school. I consider myself someone from the old school.

Some of the car reviews I have seen show that you actually like buttons and you’re also not all about having just screens in these new vehicles. I never thought that was a great feature for driving, but I have seen one of the recent reviews that you did where the return of buttons was a big thing for you.

JS: There is a button renaissance coming and I’m telling you it’s happening. I don’t know who got it into their head that vanishing all functionality into a large iPhone mounted on the dash was a safe version of what we had before. This infuriates me and I’m very glad to see a lot of manufacturers are now back peddling regarding that detail, and they are realizing that buttons are going to be the next big thing. We’ve come full circle, and I’m glad that we got there eventually.

OCT: I know the first segment of yours that I saw, which I have to tell you I was blown away by, was a review of the minivan from China. Of course, we’re not here to talk about politics or trade but this is a vehicle that we most likely will never see in this country because of our agreement with the Americans. They have to approve anything car-wise coming in from China. But I still must tell you I was blown away by this electric vehicle, a minivan from China.

JS: It was like staring directly into the future. It is a simple fact that when it comes to battery technology and software, the products coming out of China are a full generation ahead of what anyone else is doing and that minivan is called the Li Mega. This vehicle is essentially a flightless private jet. It was just absolutely staggering and that technology trickles down. It won’t be long before we see the Korean brands doing it and then before you know it, the Americans and the North American and European brands will have access to the same technology. But yes, there’s no doubt who is producing batteries and software the best at the moment.

OCT: One of the things you mentioned, and I hear people say this all the time, is a term called “range anxiety,” that always causes hesitation for people wanting to maybe dip their toe into the electric vehicle world. They remain worried about the battery life and charging. It is so interesting that people will think that we may not have enough electricity, but yet we’re building data centres with bitcoin mining centers. What do you say to people that you talk to and if you could share your opinion with people out there across Canada that may be experiencing this fear.

JS: I think it’s a thing that happens when you drive EV’s the first few times but then it just dissipates because you learn what your car is actually capable of doing. You become aware that each percent in real life is many miles and maybe in winter a couple less miles. You learn about the car before long, but you also turn into a sort of range masochist. I occasionally enjoy getting my car really close to zero per cent but I know I’m going to make it home although I may have to turn off my heated seats for the last few miles just to be safe.

The good news is electric car batteries are getting bigger and they’re getting more energy dense. Gone are the days when you have to spend a huge amount of money for a vehicle that could barely muster 100 miles in the real world. We have cars now that can do 300, 350, and up to 400 miles of range. That’s not super helpful to us in the UK because we don’t have to drive that far. I know that in the North American market having that ability to drive long distances and back without stopping is absolutely key. And the good news is we have more and more vehicles that can really do that.

Jack Scarlett and the team were at the Everything Electric Show here in Vancouver Sept. 5 -7. ca.everythingelectric.show