For the Canadian government to reach its zero-emission vehicle goal by 2035, it will need to ramp up financial incentives for consumers, significantly increase infrastructure, and enhance overall education for why this is happening.
That was the general consensus provided by three Canadian automotive industry leaders during a virtual panel discussion on March 10 on an event titled “The Road To 100% Zero-Emission Vehicles by 2035.”
The panelists included David Adams, President of Global Automakers of Canada; Brian Kingston, President and CEO, Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association; and Huw Williams, Director of Public Affairs Director at the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association. Emma Jarret, Managing Editor of Electric Autonomy Canada, moderated the discussion.
All three panelists stressed the need for the federal government to significantly raise the $5,000 rebate provided for consumers to buy EVs.
“We only need a financial incentive in place for a period of time, and that period of time relates to when we anticipate electric vehicles are going to have price parity with internal combustion vehicles,” said Adams. “The general consensus is by the latter part of this decade. We need the incentives because electric vehicles are more expensive and it’s not a factor of $1,000 or $2,000; incrementally it’s usually tens of thousands of dollars.”
“If we are trying to make vehicles affordable to the average consumer then we do need an incentive in place…There’s an argument to be made that the incentive could be larger,” he added.
He said consumers from Quebec and British Columbia are beneficiaries of having provincial incentives that are stackable with the federal incentive. “You do get incremental benefits by that ability to stack the two,” said Adams. “More is better, but it’s not forever.”
CVMA’s Brian Kingston said there is still a lack of awareness among consumers about the available rebates. He said more than half of Canadians are not aware of the rebates.
“It’s a great incentive and it’s a big, powerful driver to make that switch to electric,” said Kingston. “I’d like to see the federal government increase the incentive and all provincial
governments step forward and put incentives in the market. That will be critical to getting us to 2030.”
Kingston said sales of EVs in Ontario dropped significantly in 2018 when the newly-elected provincial government scrapped the rebate worth up to $14,000 by the Liberal government. “The second (the rebate) was pulled from the market you saw demand fall and now Ontario sits at just over 2 per cent in terms of zero-emission registration,” he said.
CADA’s Huw Williams said there needs to be consistency in government policy about the switch from gas-powered vehicles.
“Consumers aren’t just buying a car tomorrow, they are thinking of making that transition over the next year,” he said. “Knowing the provincial incentives are going to be there and knowing there’s going to be a federal government incentive helps ease the consumer’s mind that this is a choice that’s going to be around, a choice that is going to be realistic.”
Williams said the federal government needs to be flexible in its target of 50 per cent zero-emission vehicles sold by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2035, taking into account world events.
“I’ve certainly had a lot of inquiries from the dealership level and the media this past week, because of the spike in gasoline prices,” said Williams. “That’s going to trigger interest in EVs because of the value proposition.”
Adams said consumers are going through “charging station anxiety,” because charging stations are not as readily visible from most highways now, and certainly not as visible as gas stations. “Public charging infrastructure, particularly in these early years, is so important,” he said. “Canadians need to have that confidence.”
Adams also said there is no need for the government to impose a ZEV mandate to force manufacturers to sell a certain number of EVs per year. “We’re well on the road, there’s no turning back, this is a societal and an industry disruptive change from one energy source to another,” he said.
