In the wake of the federal government unexpectedly shutting down its Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) Program prematurely, several automotive manufacturers have stepped up to continue to provide purchase rebates to consumers. The OEMs we have identified so far include Hyundai, Volkswagen, Nissan, Ford, Kia and GM.
They will provide a $5,000 rebate to customers for all or specific electric vehicle purchases until the end of January. Moreover, Volkswagen has added a further $5,000 rebate for the purchase of any 2024 ID.4 vehicles for the remainder of the month due to available inventory. And Nissan is applying the rebate on all ARIYA models.
In a statement provided to Canadian auto dealer, Shane Peever, Vice-President of Sales, Service and Marketing for General Motors Canada, said the company “has implemented a short-term program to support dealers and customers affected by the abrupt end of the Government of Canada’s iZEV program. GM will provide a $5,000 purchase incentive on applicable Chevrolet Equinox EV, Blazer EV, and Cadillac OPTIQ deliveries from January 13, 2025, to January 31, 2025. Manufacturer-led incentives beyond January 31st are not sustainable.”
Hyundai Canada President and CEO Don Romano told Canadian auto dealer the company will reimburse their dealers $5,000 for any delivery that takes place before February 1, provided the dealers first submit the claims as instructed by Transport Canada. If the claims are denied, Hyundai will reimburse the dealer for the rebate amount.
He said Hyundai is doing this because of documentation issued from Transport Canada last Friday indicating the iZEV program would continue for a few weeks. But dealers were sent a notice two days later saying claims for the rebates could no longer be submitted because the available funds were fully exhausted, though the forms could be resubmitted starting in April.
Earlier this month the government formally paused the program, which caused reverberations through the automotive industry — impacting dealers who were making claims, and customers thinking of buying an electric vehicle to get the rebate. Romano said that, rather than have dealers and customers stress over the government’s reimbursement, it was best to remove those concerns and then address the matter with Transport Canada after all the claims are completed.
“Imagine getting that notice on Friday and on Sunday getting emails rejecting your claim and being told to resubmit in April,” said Romano. “The dealers were going crazy as they were immediately overwhelmed with reimbursement concerns by customers as opposed to focusing on their business and taking care of customers. On Monday, it was out of control, the emails were flying and everybody was looking for answers.”
“We’re the second-largest EV seller in Canada. It probably had a bigger impact on us, which meant it had a bigger emotional impact on our dealers. We could see this was going to have a profound negative impact on business, so we decided to act,” said Romano.
He said he believes Transport Canada will ultimately make good on its statement last Friday that the iZEV program would be paused in a few weeks and they’ll accept reimbursement claims again in April.
Volkswagen spokesman Thomas Tetzlaff told Canadian auto dealer his company will continue with the rebates at its own expense, because the way in which the program was abruptly paused was neither fair nor right.
“It doesn’t look good on the dealers. It doesn’t look good on the brand. It doesn’t look good on anybody,” said Tetzlaff. “So we decided let’s step up and, until the end of the month, we’re going to eat our 5K. Volkswagen wants to be a leader in the EV space. We’ve said it nationally. We’ve said it internationally. Sometimes you’ve got to take a bold step. This is what we considered to be a bold step.”
“They (consumers) don’t care that it’s the government that did this. All they know is, they wanted to buy an EV and now it’s in question because somebody significantly altered the terms. That was the reason for our change.”
Nissan stated in a media release: “Our customers are our top priority, and we are dedicated to providing the best possible support and solutions to them. We believe that the sudden federal government’s decision to suspend the iZEV rebate federal program is unfair to valued customers who were in the process of purchasing an electric vehicle.”
A media article in Guide de l’Auto cited a statement from Ford Canada, which said: “Ultimately, the mass adoption of electric vehicles by Canadians requires robust support in the form of consumer incentives from government, continued increase in public and home charging infrastructure, and widespread education about the benefits of electric vehicles and related technologies. Without these measures, Canadians are reluctant to make the switch.”
