Automotive News Canada - May 2022 - 8

8
* MAY 2022
Ontario election
runs on electricity
All parties back the transition to EVs, but they differ on incentives
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
ONTARIO'S KEY POLITICAL PARTIES
all have a single automotive priority heading
into the June 2 provincial election: the transition
to electric vehicles.
What differs among the Progressive
Conservatives, the New Democrats, the
Liberals and the Green Party? Their approach
to the shift, such as EV rebates for consumers,
support for automakers and strategies for
building a battery supply chain.
Automotive News Canada interviewed the
leaders of each party to gauge its approach to
the auto industry and the transition to EVs.
Ford: Supports manufacturing, but not
consumer incentives. FILE PHOTO
PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE
PARTY OF ONTARIO
IF ELECTED TO A SECOND TERM,
Premier Doug Ford said his government will
look to maintain Ontario's recent momentum
on the automotive file.
The Progressive Conservative approach
to the EV shift has emphasized helping automakers
and parts suppliers reduce the cost
of doing business in the province. This has
included an electricity-rate reduction for
industry as well as significant financial contributions
to support building EVs.
" I believe that if we invest in the industry
and the sector, then everyone's going to benefit
very, very well. And I truly, truly believe
[EV adoption] is going to increase and grow, "
Ford told Automotive News Canada.
The government launched the second
phase of its auto-sector road map last fall,
pledging to work toward a series of goals
that include securing EV product mandates
for existing vehicle plants, attracting a new
assembly plant to the province and establishing
a battery-mineral supply chain anchored
by at least two battery-cell plants.
Two examples: Government funding was
recently firmed up for General Motors' CAMI
plant in Ingersoll, which will undergo a retrofit
to build BrightDrop electric delivery vans
by the end of the year, and the announcement
on March 23 of a $5-billion LG-Stellantis battery-cell
plant in Windsor.
While financial support for automakers
factors heavily in the PC plan, incentives for
consumers remain entirely absent. The government
scrapped a previous rebate program
after winning the 2018 election, and Ford indicated
it would not be returning. His preference
is to support building an industry that
will create jobs and longer-term benefits.
Similarly, he said he opposes EV sales
mandates currently planned by the federal
Liberal government.
" I'm a private-sector person, a businessperson,
a numbers guy, " Ford said. " I truly
believe the technology and the auto sector
will drive the market along with the consumer,
not government. We'll support them. We'll
create the environment, but we don't dictate
to the market. "
French: " Strong " consumer incentives
are needed to compete with other
provinces. SUPPLIED PHOTO
ONTARIO NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
WITH PLANS FOR A " STRONG "
financial incentive for consumers buying
EVs, the Ontario NDP platform charts a different
course than that of the Progressive
Conservatives.
It pledges an incentive of " up to " $10,000
for Ontarians who purchase an EV.
According to Jennifer French, MPP for
Oshawa and the NDP critic for infrastructure,
transportation and highways, the
incentive is designed to catch Ontario up
with other leading provinces and make EV
ownership more affordable.
The NDP provided few other details. Its
platform does not break out what categories
of EVs would be eligible for the full incentive
versus a portion of the $10,000. Luxury
vehicles will not qualify for the incentive,
but the party did not say what price threshold
would constitute a luxury vehicle.
The party's platform pledges a $600 grant
for households to install EV chargers and
would require new homes to have vehicle-charging
capacity. Public charging
infrastructure would also be made a priority,
but the plan does not break out a firm
figure for investments.
The spending is part of a wider strategy
that the NDP says will support both
industry and workers during the transition
to EVs. The plan will take a longer-term
view, said French, who characterized automotive
efforts by the Ford government as
response-oriented.
" It's been quite reactionary, I think,
in the last few years, and a lot of that bad
news first and then we have the reprieve, "
she said, pointing to the closure and then
reopening of the Oshawa Assembly Plant.
The NDP platform pledges to electrify
government fleets by 2030 and offer accelerated
depreciation for commercial and
industrial buyers of zero-emission vehicles
(ZEVs).
A new cap-and-trade system is included
in the NDP platform, with an unspecified
portion of revenues going to manufacturers
in energy-intensive industries to help them
stay competitive. The platform also commits
to accelerated depreciation for certain
industrial retrofits.
Del Duca: Only way to make EVs
" more accessible, more affordable "
is with greater incentives. FILE PHOTO
ONTARIO LIBERAL PARTY
LEADER STEVEN DEL DUCA SAID
a win such as the $5.2-billion
LG-Stellantis battery-cell plant for
Windsor is welcome, but for Ontario
to reach its full potential, there needs
to be a more holistic approach to EV
policy.
" We have to make it quite clear in
this province that we don't just want
to say the right things around being a
leader in the technology and the supply
chain and critical mineral exploration, "
Del Duca said. " We have to do
more than just talk. "
For the Liberals, this means greater
emphasis on the consumer side.
Del Duca has pledged to reinstate
the province's EV incentive, promising
$8,000 to supplement the existing
$5,000 federal incentive. To keep the
program simple, the Ontario Liberals
would align the eligibility criteria for
the incentive with Ottawa's Incentives
for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV)
program.
The party would also add an additional
$1,500 consumer incentive for
in-home charging equipment and
it has promised to build out public
charging infrastructure more quickly.
" It's so important for the provincial
government and the federal government
to work together to make it more
accessible, more affordable, to make
the charging infrastructure as easy
to access as your neighbourhood traditional
gas station - and we're not
there yet, " Del Duca said.
The Liberals have also pledged to
back automakers and battery manufacturers.
The party will reinvest a
portion of funds raised from a new
carbon pricing plan into EV production.
To boost Ontario's battery supply
chain, the Liberals will create a new
fund to commercialize next-generation
battery technology and fill current
gaps. The party did not disclose the
value of the fund.
Schreiner: " We're going to need
both carrots [incentives] and sticks
[sales mandates]. " SUPPLIED PHOTO
GREEN PARTY OF ONTARIO
CUTTING COSTS FOR DRIVERS
looking to buy an EV underpins the
Green Party's automotive strategy.
Party Leader Mike Schreiner, MPP
for Guelph, said incentives play a
" vital " role in EV adoption and will
ultimately help lower their cost.
" We want to make sure that the
average Ontarian can afford an electric
vehicle, especially because the
cost of ownership is so low, especially
with these sky-high prices at the gas
pumps, " Schreiner said.
The Green Party plan pledges a
$10,000 incentive for the purchase
of a new EV as well as $1,000 for the
purchase of a used EV. The program
would be fully aligned with the federal
iZEV program on price caps,
Schreiner said, but no incentives
are included for hybrids or plug-in
hybrids.
The incentives would increase
demand, he added, leading to higher
manufacturing volumes and lower
production costs.
Schreiner also backs a sales mandate,
saying incentives alone are
unlikely to get drivers into EVs quickly
enough.
" I think 15 years ago - 10 years
ago, even - carrots [incentives] alone
would get the job done, but I think
we're going to need both carrots and
sticks, " he said, pointing to a mandate
as one of the sticks.
To support manufacturing, the
Green Party is proposing a $5-billion
innovation fund for EVs and green
technology as well as a so-called climate
bank with $4 billion that would
support low-carbon capital upgrades
for medium and small businesses.
Recent investments in Ontario's
auto sector are encouraging, Schreiner
said, but more can be done to incentivize
investment in sustainable mining
and the wider EV supply chain.
- ANC
Automotive News Canada - May 2022

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