British Columbia’s first Clean Energy Vehicle (CEV) for BC Point of Sale Incentive program has reached a significant milestone, having provided more than $1 million in incentives to motorists in the province who have switched to clean energy vehicles.
The CEV for BC Program, administered by the New Car Dealers Association of BC (NCDABC) on behalf of the provincial government, allows a discount of up to $5,000 from the pre-tax sticker price of each eligible clean energy vehicle. The total of $1 million in incentives is equal to 200 clean energy vehicles on the roads in British Columbia.
A total of 17 different low or zero emissions vehicles (pure EVs, plug-in hybrids, natural gas and hydrogen fueled cars) are eligible for the incentive program, the most recent candidate being the 2012 Ford Focus Electric. The first Focus Electric to be sold in BC was recently delivered to a customer in Fort St. John. The zero-emission, battery-powered hatchback reaches a top speed of 135 km/h, while delivering a range of approximately 120 km on a single charge.
Other high profile vehicles that are eligible for the CEV for BC program include the extended range Chevrolet Volt, as well as the pure electric Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi iMiEV. Collectively, these three cars represent the top selling Clean Energy Vehicles in the province.
“Moving forward we expect to see even more interest in the program as more eligible vehicles arrive in B.C., additional charging infrastructure is deployed, and awareness of the incentives continues to grow,” remarked Blair Qualey, President and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of BC. “There is a definite interest in these vehicles as over 73 per cent of the 968 people surveyed by our team this year indicated that they are considering a clean energy vehicle for their next purchase.”
