Electric car charging stations set up along Hwy. 401

Getting from one end of Highway 401 to another is getting easier for owners of electric cars, which can now pull into any of 20 new charging stations on the route between Detroit and Montreal.

The company behind the charging stations, Sun Country Highway, is looking to generate more interest in electric cars while countering the impression that such vehicles arent suitable for long-distance trips.

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With our charging stations,you can charge it up in a few hours. In an hour, you can get about100 kilometres, said Kent Rathwell, president of Sun Country Highway.

The lack of charging stations has also deterred some from buying electric cars.

E-car advocate Bonnie Bieber, however, recently went the distance during a three-week test drive of a Tesla limited-edition electric sports car.

We left from Vancouver to Seattle then made our way all through Canada to P.E.I. and then came all the way back, Bieber told CBC News.

She hopes to buy her own one day, like her nephew, pop star Justin Bieber.

He's got an electric hybrid, she said. So I'm going to see if maybe I can talk him into bringing that car down so we can race it.