Automotive News Canada - February 2017 - 11

* FEBRUARY 2017

No matter how good it is, the Bolt relies on government incentives
Through the same
time period, only
69 EVs were sold
outside of subsidy
provinces, while
4,484 sold within

the Bolt to equal 2016 sales of
the Volt plug-in hybrid, which
is about 3,500.
Peever says GM sees electrification as "the way forward
and the future. And we're
going to continue to work with
dealers to make sure there is
a business case for them to
adopt them. Obviously, it will
be a matter of throughput in
the long run for dealers."

By JEREMY CATO
VA N C O U V E R

CORRESPONDENT

WITH A GROSS PROFIT
margin of about $3,000 per
Chevrolet Bolt, dealerships
won't have much leeway
for deal making on the first
mass-produced "affordable"
all-electric car.
Brand Manager Shane
Peever says the Bolt ($42,795
base price) will sell on its merits as a functional, high-tech
vehicle, but even Transport
Canada says tax incentives are
crucial to its sales success.
Through all of 2015 and the
first three-quarters of 2016,
exactly 69 battery-electric vehicles were sold outside of the
subsidizing provinces of B.C.,
Ontario and Quebec (which
sold 4,484 combined), according to GM. Peever says GM is
open to working with all provinces to boost EV sales but
nothing is currently in the
works.
Government subsidies
can be worth up to $14,000
in Ontario on a 2017 Bolt,
while EV incentives top out
at $11,000 in B.C. and $8,000 in
Quebec.
Several of the seven provinces not offering incentives
were contacted by Automotive
News Canada and none indicated that EV subsidies were
in the immediate pipeline.

INCENTIVES DRIVE SALES

COMPETITION WELCOMED

The seven provinces that don't offer government incentives
Nissan Canada says that EV for EVs are not part of GM's initial marketing rollout, indicating
just how crucial incentives are. ( P H O T O : C H E V R O L E T )
sales are not solely dependent
on government incentives.
"EV awareness and public
Canadians have bought nearsion vehicles," says Nissan
infrastructure are also crucial
ly 4,600 Nissan Leaf EVs since
Canada spokesman Didier
16-4552_PrintAd_NADA_8_10_CAD_FINAL_r2.pdf
1
1/23/17
9:02 AM
to convert drivers
to zero-emis2011.
Marsaud, who adds that the

les.

Without cash rebates
and tax incentives, however, Canadians are unlikely to
be persuaded to buy electric
cars as part of an overall federal-government strategy to
cut greenhouse-gas emissions,
according to a 2016 federal
report to Transport Minister
Marc Garneau.
"Evidence suggests incentives are the primary reason for existing sales of EVs,"
Transport Canada's policy
group said in internal comments on the report's recommendations reported by
Canadian Press.
With provincial incentives, an Ontario customer
can have a Bolt for $30,406,
but GM Canada is not sweetening the deal beyond a 2.49
per cent finance incentive (up
to 84 months) or 3.9 per cent
lease rate (up to 60 months).
Retailers will not have much
dealmaking room, either; the
gross margin on a Bolt is about
$3,000, according to www.
CarCostCanada.com.
Still, 211 of GM Canada's
427 Chevy dealers have signed
up to sell the Bolt, which
requires a floor-plan commitment, training and installing a fast-charge station: 195
of them are in B.C., Ontario
and Quebec, where 98 per cent
of all plug-in sales occur. GM
Canada expects 2017 sales of

Bolt will help advance the electric-vehicle cause. "More EV
competition equals more EV
awareness," he says.
Peever said GM Canada
will limit the Bolt launch
primarily to social media, a
series of driving events in
select markets and a small
general-media campaign.
The federal government has
no provision in the current
budget to offer EV subsidies,
though it did set aside $62.5
million for Natural Resources
Canada to help businesses
install workplace chargers for
EVs as well as natural-gas and
hydrogen fueling stations.
- ANC

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - February 2017