In most parts of the world, demand for all-electric vehicles has trailed behind expected levels of growth – including the U.S. and Europe – prompting automakers to scale back their planned investments in that area, as well as delay or cancel the launch of certain EV models. Automakers including Ford remain adamant that robust incentives are needed to conjure up demand for EVs, a topic that has become quite important in places like the UK and Europe, where officials are aiming to end the sale of new ICE vehicles in the coming years. Meanwhile, in Canada, car shoppers are taking full advantage of that country’s robust EV incentives.
According to Automotive News Canada, 23,713 new car shoppers in that country took advantage of its Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles program in November, which is just a touch less than October’s record figure of 23,923. With one month left to go, a total of 193,308 car shoppers have purchased a vehicle and taken advantage of the program, which gives buyers a $5,000 rebate on fully-electric vehicles, as well as plug-in hybrids with an all-electric driving range of more than 49 kilometers (30 miles). PHEVs that come in under that mark still qualify for a $2,500 rebate.
There are some additional criteria, including pricing – passenger cars must start out at less than $55,000 to qualify, though some variants are eligible with costs of up to $65,000. Pickups, SUVs, and minivans must have a starting price of under $60,000, while higher-cost models can have MSRPs of less than $70,000. In terms of the top brands that customers are using the credit for, Tesla ranks first with 37,721 rebates, followed by Hyundai (25,656), Toyota (22,467), Ford (19,357), and Chevrolet (18,828) rounding out the top five, year-to-date.
This surge in interest is likely due to the fact that as of now, the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles program in Canada is set to expire no later than March 2025, unless officials choose to renew it. Since it originally launched in 2019, the program has applied to the purchase of more than 500,000 EVs and PHEVs.
Comments
Maybe they have the infrastructure in place not like the US and Europe. You need the infrastructure first then buy the vehicle.
That 193,308 number is only about 7.5% of the total vehicles sold so it’s not yet a ‘big wup’! To answer Larry Canada does NOT have the infrastructure in place now and there are few large plans for any increases. Flogging a dead horse.
So my tax dollars are supporting other people to buy cars. Next thing the government will pay for student loans! Doh!