The New Car Dealers Association of BC (NCDABC) is pleased that the recent provincial government’s $5,000 incentive to buy a green vehicle will be done at the time of sale and consumers can get the funds through their dealer without a wait, said association president Blair Qualey.
“We felt that if there was a system where the consumer had to wait
three or four months to get the
funds, it wouldn’t work,” he said,
adding that consumers might opt
for other vehicles.
The $5,000 point-of-sale incentive for green cars is part of a $17 million new vehicle incentive programs being made available for B.C. consumers through four projects by the B.C. government. The programs include new clean energy vehicles, rebates for home charging stations, infrastructure funding for public charging stations, and new funds for the successful BC SCRAP-IT Program.
Beginning Dec. 1, consumers were eligible to receive up to $5,000 off the before-tax price when they purchase or lease a qualifying new battery electric, fuel cell, plug-in hybrid electric or compressed natural gas vehicle. The $7.5 million Clean Energy Vehicle (CEV) Point of Sale Incentive Program is an initiative of the B.C. Ministry of Environment, LiveSmart B.C. and the New Car Dealers Association of B.C. It is intended to encourage and accelerate the sale of clean energy vehicles and technology innovation within British Columbia.
“B.C.’s new car dealers have been working closely with auto manufacturers to attract new clean energy vehicles to the B.C. market,” said Qualey. Initially, he expects that Lower Mainland dealers will be impacted most by the incentive simply because of the greater number of charging stations locally but it could also create interest in northern B.C. areas and make dealers more willing to showcase this new generation of vehicles.
Vehicles currently qualifying under the CEV Incentive Program include the Chevrolet Volt, Mitsubishi iMiev, Nissan Leaf, Smart Fortwo, and Toyota Prius. Also included are fuel cell technology models such as the Mercedes-Benz B-class F-cell and Compressed Natural Gas models such as the Honda GX. Pure battery powered electric vehicles such as the Leaf and iMiev have zero tailpipe emissions. Vehicles qualifying for the rebate are anticipated to cost as little as $300 per year in hydro costs compared to upwards of $1,500 per year to fuel a gas powered car.
A new website hosted by the NCDABC (www.cevforbc.ca) launched Dec. 1 along with the CEV Incentive Program, will serve as a central point for consumers wanting to learn more about eligible vehicles and incentives for each vehicle.
More than $6 million in provincial funding was also announced for charging stations and upgrades to hydrogen fuelling stations at existing facilities, as well as a rebate of up to $500 per qualifying station for homeowners who want to install dedicated charging stations in their home for their clean energy vehicle. Details are available at www.livesmartbc.ca.
