Canadian EV Sales Sink 45 Percent After Rebate Program Ends

As Ford Authority reported back in January, the Canadian Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) program was set to expire no later than March 2025, though Transport Canada ultimately decided to pause it ahead of that date, leaving shoppers in a bit of a limbo. Though there was still around $70 million remaining in the program’s funding pool – enough to last several weeks – shoppers flooded the agency with claims in an effort to take advantage before it concluded, quickly exhausting those funds. Turns out, Canadian EV sales have subsequently fallen off a proverbial cliff since the iZEV program ended, too.

According to Automotive News, Canadian EV sales dropped 44.9 percent year-over-year in March – going from 22,390 in 2024 to 12,347 – two months after the iZEV program stopped dispersing funds. That’s a bit steeper than February, when EV sales declined by 41.3 percent, and new zero-emissions vehicle sales also lost market share in March – comprising 6.5 percent of overall new vehicle sales, compared to 6.8 percent the month prior.

“EV sales have collapsed in Canada,” said Brian Kingston, CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, which represents Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis in Canada. “The end of purchase incentives and the growing EV charging gap are the culprits. The federal EV mandate needs to be scrapped before serious damage is done to the auto industry.” Currently, Canada’s ZEV mandate requires a 20 percent sales mix in 2026, 60 percent by 2030, and 100 percent in 2035.

It’s unclear if or when Canada might consider bringing back its EV incentives, but Ford did announce that it would be providing customers with the same $5,000 purchase rebate for qualifying electrified models, at least, through the end of January in most cases. At that time, Ford gave shoppers $5,000 off the purchase of a new Ford Mustang Mach-E, Ford F-150 Lightning, or Ford Escape PHEV, plus $2,500 off the Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring through the conclusion of the month.