Automotive News Canada - April 2019 - 16

* APRIL 2019

CANADA'S

EV REPORT CARD
The future is apparently
electric, but with a mixed bag
of provincial rebates and
ZEV sales mandates, and new
federal announcements that
have few specifics and
no teeth, the industry appears
to be stalled on the on ramp

The Nissan Leaf SV:
With a sticker price below
$45,000, it would qualify
for a $5,000 rebate.

Federal rebates, at last
$300-million incentive
plan could recharge
EV sales, but the devil
is in the details that
have not be finalized

include the Volkswagen e-Golf, Smart
ForTwo and ForTwo Cabrio, all three
trims of the Kia Soul EV and both
trims of the Hyundai Ioniq Electric.
But more expensive trims of the
Leaf Plus would not qualify, nor
would a Chevrolet Bolt EV Premier,
Hyundai Kona EV, BMW i3 or Tesla
Model 3.
By STEPHANIE WALLCRAFT
TORONTO CORRESPONDENT
For businesses in the market to
purchase, qualifying electric and
hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles or those
plug-in hybrid vehicles with a battery
A NEW $300-MILLION FEDERAL
capacity of at least 15 kilowatt hours
electric-vehicle incentive program is
would be eligible for a full tax writeshort on details and limited in scope,
off in the year they were put into use,
but it could eventually boost EV sales
up to a limit of $55,000 plus sales tax.
nationwide, particularly in provincThat figure would be reviewed annues without subsidies, industry experts
ally.
say.
The Canadian Automobile Dealers
Al Cormier, interim president
Association (CADA) said
and CEO of the non-profit
it consulted with governElectric Mobility Canada,
ment officials to ensure that
said the program could be
the federal rebate would be
enough to bridge the price
combined with existing prodisparity between gasograms.
line-powered and electric
"If certain provincvehicles, a gap expected to
es are already providing
close by 2025 if battery pricincentives to consumers,
ing trends continue downthen it wouldn't be fair to
ward. The greatest potennot make them stackable
tial for sales growth is in
or combinable," said Huw
provinces where incentives Al Cormier of
Electric Mobility
Williams, CADA's director
have not yet been offered,
Canada said
of public affairs. "The prohe said.
gram is going to do that."
"Like any product, when that because
consumers
the volumes come up, the
and dealers are
STALLED SALES
unit prices go down," he
waiting for details
said. "Clearly, the sales
However, Cormier said
about the federal
have been in the provincthe EV market has ground
electric-vehicle
es with incentives [British
incentive program, to a halt as consumers and
Columbia and Quebec], so
dealers await details of the
EV sales have
having it come out across
federal plan.
stalled.
the country, it'll make a dif- P H O T O C O N T R I B U T E D
"It's stalled sales," he
ference everywhere."
said. "We've been after
BY AL CORMIER
Under the Liberal gov[the federal government] to
ernment's 2019 budget tabled in
release the details ASAP to get busiMarch, incentives of up to $5,000 will
ness back."
be applied to battery-electric and
Transport Canada, which is adminhydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles with a
istering the program, said "details
sticker price of less than $45,000. The
are under development and will be
$300-million figure is for three years.
announced as soon as they are finalFor example, the 2019 Nissan
ized."
Leaf SV, with its base sticker price
Expressing skepticism about the
of $42,775 including freight and PDI,
program is David Adams, president
would qualify for the $5,000 incenof the Global Automakers of Canada.
tive. Other vehicles that would qualify
Adams said the incentive was "prob-

Tesla Model 3:
With a sticker of $47,600,
excluding freight and PDI
charges, there's no $5,000
rebate. But there is for the
$53,990 Chrysler Pacifica.

I L L U S T R AT I O N F R O M
NISSAN, TESLA AND
ISTOCK PHOTOS

Ontario and as we do in Quebec, B.C.
or the United States."
CADA's Williams said he expects
the program to go through further changes before the details are
announced.
"The hard part with these kinds
of programs is that they ultimately
draw a line in the marketplace. I think
Transport Canada and the government
as a whole is really struggling, now that
they have more information and more
input, to make that mix as solid as possible from a policy perspective."

lematic," and "would seem to be more
optics than anything else."
While the lack of details "has put a
freeze on EV sales," the vehicles that
are eligible for the incentive are by and
large compact passenger cars and do
not reflect consumer preferences for
light-duty trucks, Adams
said.
However, he gave a
thumbs-up to the capital-cost
FEDS BOW TO PRESSURE
initiative for business.
The Windsor, Ont."It allows businesses to
assembled Chrysler Pacifica
purchase these vehicles and
plug-in hybrid minivan,
write them off quite early.
with a sticker of $53,990,
Depending on how those
excluding freight and PDI,
vehicles are deployed, it
had been excluded from the
gives consumers exposure
incentive program, which
to vehicles that wouldn't
led to union members and
David
Adams,
have otherwise been availlocal politicians, demanding
president of the
able to businesses."
Global Automakers Ottawa reverse the decision.
Cormier said Electric
On March 29, Economic
of Canada, said
Mobility Canada is lobbyDevelopment Minister
ing to have the cap raised to the incentive was
Navdeep Bains said that the
"problematic,"
and
$55,000 for consumers and
vehicle would be eligible
"would
seem
to
be
for options or delivery fees
for the incentive after FCA
more
optics
than
to be excluded.
Canada announced it would
anything
else."
"The $45,000-limit elimieliminate the third shift at
FILE PHOTO
nates quite a few of the batits Windsor Assembly Plant.
tery electric vehicles that
Jonn Axsen, a professor at British
consumers like because they have a
Columbia's Simon Fraser University
more powerful battery and a longer
who studies transitions to sustainable
range," Cormier said. "[The incentive]
transportation, said assigning a dolshould be on the basic price of the car
lar figure to the program rather than a
before the consumer adds any options
span of time limits its potential impact.
or delivery charges, as [it was] in
"If all of that [$300 million] went

QUEBEC, B.C. REBATES
British Columbia offers rebates of up
to $6,000 for the purchase or lease
of hydrogen fuel-cell, plug-in hybrid
or battery-electric vehicles with a
sticker-price limit of $77,000.
Quebec offers rebates of up to
$8,000 for electric, hydrogen fuelcell, plug-in hybrid or hybrid vehicles.
The sticker-price cap depends on
the type of vehicle but ranges from
$75,000 to $125,000.
Source: Governments
of British Columbia and Quebec

to incentives, that would incentivize
60,000 cars," Axsen told Automotive
News Canada. "My guess is that it
would be, with current funds, not
more than one or two years of sales."
Sales of battery electric vehicles
(BEVs) totaled 22,690 units in 2018, up
from 9,840 units in 2017, according to
Electric Mobility Canada, using data
supplied by IHS Markit. Overall 2018
sales totaled just over two million in
Canada.
Excluding the majority of plugin hybrids from the program leaves
out a segment of the EV market that
consumers are most likely to adopt,
Axsen said. - ANC
With files from Digital and Mobile
Editor Greg Layson

Automotive News Canada - April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - April 2019