Carolyn Otto knew at some point she'd want to be driving an electric vehicle, but it took her a few years to actually purchase one.

A few years ago, she was doing a lot of driving between Sudbury and North Bay to visit her aging parents.

"It was costing me a lot of money for gas," she said. "I was comparing prices along that highway and not feeling good about what we were paying in Sudbury. I was really frustrated about that."

She also had the environment in mind and wanted to start living a greener lifestyle.

"I decided a long time ago I was going to go with an electric car but I wasn't sure about how quickly I could make that transition," she said.

Initially she went with a hybrid before switching to an electric vehicle. Now, she's the proud owner of a Tesla Model 3.

Even though she recently got it, she's driven about 5,000 km in it.

"I've had a few long trips," she said. "But I don't hesitate to take short trips around the city either anymore because I don't care about the price of gas, for the first time in years."

She says she can get upwards of 500 km on a single charge.

"I did go through a little of range-anxiety like everybody else does," she said. "But I'm really confident now in how far I can go."

Otto isn't the only Sudburian trading in her vehicle for an electric one. According to the Electric Vehicle Society — in Greater Sudbury, there has been an increase in electric vehicle purchases. Last July, the group had 95 electric vehicles registered, compared with 170 this year which is a 78 per cent increase.

"We're seeing a steady year-over-year increase in electric vehicles in Sudbury, which is trending the same as the rest of Canada," Devin Arthur, president of the group said.