As automakers continue to push the federal government in Canada to do away with its zero-emissions vehicle sales mandate, CBC released a report looking at what such a move would do to emissions.
The ZEV sales mandate means dealers will need to ensure that 20 per cent of light duty vehicles sold in 2026 are plug-in hybrids or full EVs. By 2035, that percentage must rise to 100 per cent. But with the federal incentive paused and provinces cutting down or scrapping rebates altogether, consumers may be less inclined to switch to an EV. And dealers that don’t meet the sales target will face penalties.
“Brian Kingston, President and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, told CBC News on the way to the meeting that ‘the targets that have been established cannot be met’ given current market forces,” said CBC in its report. “He later added that Canada already has other policies to meet its greenhouse gas emission targets.”
However, CBC also noted that, based on The Canadian Climate Institute — which modelled 60 potential net-zero scenarios — shifting to ZEVs was “central to everyone.” They highlighted a McKitrick study that found by 2050, the mandate would result in greenhouse gas emissions declining by around 8 per cent. That’s compared to a “base scenario” that does not include the ZEV mandate.
CBC said “one strategy to boost EV sales and adoption that has been proposed by academics and EV advocates has been to scrap tariffs on Chinese cars, which sell for as little as $13,000 CDN overseas.”
According to Arthur Zhang, Senior Research Associate at the Canadian Climate Institute, if cheaper EVs are made available to consumers, the ZEV sales mandate would have less of an impact.
