Automotive News Canada - October 2017 - 25

* OCTOBER 2017

Porsche plans electric vehicles based on its Mission E
concept, above, first shown at the 2015 Frankfurt auto
show. At right is the Mitsubishi i-Miev.
(PHOTOS: PORSCHE, MITSUBISHI)

provinces and British Columbia are the only provinces to subsidize EV sales. Accordingly, they
account for almost all of Canada's EV sales.

ELIMINATING CARBON
For internal-combustion engines, "the writing
is on the wall and everybody knows that," says
Adams. "Everybody's working towards that goal
of decarbonizing transportation and it's just a
question of how quickly we can get there. It automatically comes down to the consumer, and how
quickly the consumer will make that transition."
Mazda is taking a different route to that goal,
though.
"Our position has always been that government should allow each automaker to come up
with their own strategies to reduce emissions and
meet regulations based on their
own advanced technologies,"
says Lemaitre. "Give us the goal
and let us figure out how to get
there."
Mazda has staked out a different route to emissions reduction, focusing on internal-combustion efficiency. In August, the
company announced plans to use
high-compression-charge ignition
Global
(HCCI) engines by 2019. The techAutomakers
nology compresses gasoline to
President
such high pressure that it ignites
David
- as in a diesel engine - withAdams says
out the need of spark. HCCI touts
Bill 104's
passage
ultra-clean performance, but findhas been
ing a workable version for series
"frustrating." production has eluded other automakers.
FCA is also considerably challenged in meeting
the Quebec targets. It only has the Pacifica PHEV
minivan to offset the rest of its Chryslers, Dodges,
Jeeps, Rams, Fiats and Alfa Romeos.
The proposed legislation does not discriminate between commercial and non-commercial
vehicles, and includes all but the heaviest pickup trucks. Public-relations staff deferred questions to Mark Nantais of the Canadian Vehicle
Manufacturers Association (CVMA), which represents FCA, Ford and General Motors.
"The Quebec regulations are more stringent
than California or the northeastern states," said
Nantais, the CVMA's president. "How do we do
this in a way that's not going to penalize customers? I guess [automakers] could pay fines, but
that's truly contrary to some of the policies of
companies. But if you can't buy enough credits or
generate enough credits, you start to curtail certain products.
"This is how ludicrous this is - trying to
force supply when there's not at the moment the
demand. We want to change that, not by regulations but by collaborative approaches to help consumers understand they can make a decision for
their transportation." - ANC

22 per cent by 2025?

What automakers say about the Quebec targets
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
Canada asked automakers about their confidence
in meeting Quebec's targets.
Selected comments follow:

BMW: "Meeting these aggressive targets will involve
more than OEM support.
Customers considering plugin vehicles will need to be
educated and assured there
is adequate infrastructure to
support their mobility needs
and the benefits to EV ownership are present, such as
access to [high-occupant vehicle] lanes."
GENERAL MOTORS: "We certainly plan to remain fully
committed to the Quebec market, which has been Canada's
leading market for EV sales in
recent years.
"Quebec is still in the final
stages of regulatory review, so
it remains to be seen how successful this approach will be
versus, for example, Ontario
where EV sales have recently been growing most rapidly
in Canada though a collaborative approach [with stakeholders] working together to
address new EV technology,
consumer incentives, education and the need for better
charging infrastructure."

HONDA: "The provincial tar-

gets are extremely aggressive,
but we're still in the comment
period and working closely
with our government partners towards the shared goal
of reducing greenhouse gas
emissions."

HYUNDAI: "The bigger question is customer demand. The
Quebec government should
be taking equally aggressive
steps toward ensuring the
infrastructure, customer
awareness, and incentives are
in place to support interest
in zero-emissions vehicles.
Further, all actions should
be done without prescribing
a specific technology as the
solution to the government's
objective.
MAZDA: "We feel that impos-

ing a zero-emission vehicle
mandate is not in the best
interest of consumers as it
reduces the number of affordable, emissions-compliant
vehicle choices in the marketplace ... give us the goal and
let us figure out how to get
there."

MERCEDES-BENZ: "The Quebec
program is very challenging.
In addition to the aggressive targets, a lack of lead
time and restrictive credit

provisions make the Quebec
program more stringent than
California's program."

NISSAN: "Nissan is committed to promoting the adoption of electric vehicles ...
Nissan partnered with Hydro
Quebec for the expansion of
the Electric Circuit public
charging network of DC Fast
Chargers in that province.
We are working diligently to
achieve the targets set out by
the province of Quebec over
the coming years."
PORSCHE: "We know for sure
that the recently introduced
$75,000 MSRP cap for the customer support that electric
vehicles (PHEV/BEV) enjoy
in Quebec has yielded a substantial disadvantage for our
products in the province.
"The brand feels particularly unfairly treated as it is
held responsible to the ZEV
quota but does no longer
enjoy the financial subsidies
applicable to others."
"We for sure want to
remain in business in Quebec
... but we are deeply concerned of the impact of the
mandate on our dealers and
Porsche Cars Canada Ltd.'s
business viability, as well
as the choice our customers
would have." - ANC

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