Automotive News Canada - January 2023 - 22

22
* JANUARY 2023
Industry: ZEV mandate is ignorant of reality
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Toronto, doesn't think the government
will succeed in getting Canadians to buy
enough ZEVs.
" I think it is a total pipe dream by our
federal government, " said Alizadeh, who
has 11 dealerships in the Greater Toronto
Area.
Too many barriers - including price,
insufficient charging infrastructure and
inventory shortages - will continue preventing
Canadians from buying EVs, said
Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian
Vehicle Manufacturers' Association
(CVMA).
" What this regulation does is regulate
Canadians to buy vehicles they can't
charge or can't afford. That's a problem, "
said Kingston, whose group represents the
interests of the Detroit Three automakers.
" We cannot have [a] prescriptive regulation
that makes it highly costly or nearly
impossible for a consumer to choose the
vehicle they need. "
On top of that, Alizadeh doesn't think
battery-electric vehicles are well-suited to
Canada's climate and geography.
" Maybe we need to get Mr. [Justin]
Trudeau to drive an EV in Ottawa. You go
from 450 kilometres range down to 300 or
less on cold, cold days. You really have a
disadvantage, and I haven't seen anyone
fix that problem, and I carry a bunch of
EVs in my portfolio.
" They all suffer from the same problem:
Cold climate does not bode well for their
performance. "
While few debate that cold weather
affects range, the question remains: By
how much?
Jesse Caron, an automotive analyst at
CAA-Quebec, said the ideal temperature
for EVs is between 15 and 25 C.
" If it's hotter or cooler than that, you
may get different results than what's advertised
by the manufacturer, " Caron said in a
post on the CAA-Quebec website.
'CART BEFORE THE HORSE'
Julie Dabrusin, Guilbeault's parliamentary
secretary, said during the announcement
of the ZEV mandate that the new target
is " about making sure that Canadians
have access to the vehicles they want. "
But the federal plan is unrealistic,
Kingston said.
" The government is putting the cart
before the horse. They're going to regulate
[sales] prior to addressing those very wellknown
barriers to EV adoption. That's
extremely concerning.
" The federal government believes it
can regulate away global supply challenges.
That is not realistic. That is simply not
possible. "
Flavio Volpe, president of the
Automotive Parts Manufacturers'
Association (APMA), shared similar sentiments.
" Consumers
are free to choose the cars
they buy, " Volpe said in a lengthy Twitter
Too many barriers - including insufficient charging infrastructure - will continue
preventing Canadians from buying EVs, said CVMA President Brian Kingston.
PHOTO: GREG LAYSON
Kingston:
" The federal
government
believes it
can regulate
away global
supply
challenges.
... That is
simply not
possible. "
FILE PHOTO
Dabrusin:
The ZEV
mandate
is " about
making
sure that
Canadians
have
access to
the vehicles
they want. "
PHOTO:
LINKEDIN
thread. " If they choose not to buy an EV,
then you don't have a sale.
" Making cars is a business that employs
people, " he said. " If you force them to
make cars no one buys, you risk their jobs.
Targets that are really quotas that imperil
the jobs of people who are responsible
for the technological solutions are not the
path to success in EVs. "
Volpe is all-in on electrification -
the APMA unveiled its Project Arrow,
a Canadian-made EV concept, at CES in
Las Vegas on Jan. 5 - but, " Ideology over
ideas, government intervention without
taking a view on the supply side, is brainless, "
he told Automotive News Canada.
" If I believed they [government] knew
what they were doing, I'd call them hypocrites.
But I don't, so I'll just call them
naive. "
In a statement, Environment and
Climate Change Canada said the ZEV sales
mandate " moves to increase the supply of
electric vehicles for Canadians. "
David Adams, CEO of the Global
Automakers of Canada, which lobbies
Alizadeh:
" I think it is
a total pipe
dream by
our federal
government. "
FILE
PHOTO
Clairman:
Supports
the ZEV
sales
mandate
as a way to
promote EV
adoption
- despite
long
waits for
vehicles.
FILE PHOTO
Adams:
" The
government
hasn't truly
consulted
with
industry
on " EV
mandates.
FILE PHOTO
Volpe:
" Ideology
over ideas,
government
intervention
without
taking a
view on
the supply
side, is
brainless. "
FILE PHOTO
on behalf of automakers other than the
Detroit Three, disagreed.
" I just can't see how they say that with a
straight face. In a globally constrained EV
market, there's only so many being produced.
It's not like automakers are hiding
them in a warehouse somewhere.
" There's no guarantee that just because
Canada has a ZEV mandate, any of those
vehicles are going to come here, " he said.
Echoing the concerns of the automakers
is the association representing Canada's
3,000-plus franchised dealers.
" The concern for dealers and consumers
is that this insulated mandate, which
does not address the necessary structural
preconditions in terms of accessible
charging infrastructure and competitive
purchasing incentives, will limit consumer
choice and lead to increased vehicle costs, "
Tim Reuss, president of the Canadian
Automobile Dealers Association (CADA),
said in a statement.
Reuss and Adams said government consultations
leading up to the mandate have
fallen short of expectations.
" It is high time for the federal government
to listen and work with industry and
consumer groups to design and implement
a plan that takes into account the vastly
different economic and geographical realities
across Canada, " Reuss said.
Said Adams: " One of the things we really
haven't had is a good consultation process,
as we traditionally have as regulated
parties. The government hasn't truly consulted
with industry on the matter. "
PENALTY: UP TO $20,000 A VEHICLE
Using a phased-in approach under the
Canadian Environmental Protection Act,
automakers or importers that don't meet
the sales targets could face penalties of up
to $20,000 for every vehicle the federal government
doesn't view as a qualifying ZEV,
said Kingston, who said he has seen the
draft regulations.
" You put these penalties on industry,
and this ultimately increases the overall
cost of building and selling vehicles
in Canada, " he said. " That will be costly
to Canadians at a time when we have an
affordability crisis, rising inflation and a
range of budgetary pressures. "
Said the APMA's Volpe: " They might as
well hand out the fines today. Nobody is
going to make it. "
The draft regulations show that the
government proposes tracking the sales
by issuing credits for vehicle sales, The
Canadian Press reported.
Electric vehicles would be worth a bigger
credit than plug-in hybrid versions
- although the government acknowledges
that plug-in hybrids will likely remain
in demand in rural and northern areas,
which typically are bereft of charging
infrastructure.
In the first six months of 2022, sales of
fully electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles
made up just 7.2 per cent of new-car registrations,
according to Statistics Canada.
For all of 2021, the share was 5.2 per cent.
'CLIMATE EMERGENCY'
Supply remains a problem, said Cara
Clairman, president of Plug'n Drive, a
Toronto-based nonprofit promoting EVs.
" Long waiting lists are definitely discouraging
consumers that are ready to
make the switch, " Clairman said. " And if
we all agree that we're in a climate emergency,
we need to help consumers make
the switch as soon as possible. "
However, Clairman, who joined government
officials in Toronto to announce the
ZEV changes, said the new mandate will
support EV adoption.
The targets are not achievable " at the
current pace of investment by the federal
government when it comes to EV readiness, "
said the CVMA's Kingston.
The country - particularly rural
Canada - lacks charging infrastructure,
he said, adding that the current $5,000 federal
iZEV consumer rebate is too low. The
CVMA wants it increased to $10,000.
- ANC
Mineral agreements with Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen allow rocks to leave Canada
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19
Memorandums of understanding
that Ottawa signed in August
with Mercedes-Benz Group and
Volkswagen Group contained
" no contingencies requiring the
creation of processing and/or
refining jobs, " Ertl said.
Since then, Mercedes-Benz
has signed a lithium supply
deal for its European operations
with Vancouver-based Rock
Tech Lithium Inc. The company
is developing a mine in northern
Ontario, but its near-term
plans are to refine the lithium in
Germany.
Rock Tech has limited capital
to work with, said André
Mandel, the company's vice-president
of marketing and communications.
With the European
market tracking ahead of North
America on EV adoption, Rock
Tech opted to prioritize its
refinery at the eastern edge of
Germany first.
Longer term, Mandel said, the
company views another refinery
in Canada as a " very good
option. " But in the meantime, it
will explore securing an exemption
under the Ontario Mining
Act that would allow it to send
shipments of Ontario-mined lithium
to Germany for final processing.
Among
advanced-stage
Canadian lithium developments,
Rock Tech, in the near term, is
an exception in steering away
from local refining.
In Quebec, Australia's Sayona
Mining as well as homegrown
Nemaska Lithium Inc. each plan
refineries to complement lithium
mines in the province. Snow
Lake Lithium in Manitoba also
looks to build a Winnipeg plant
to refine product from its mine
in the central part of the province.
As
with Avalon, Frontier
Lithium - another aspiring producer,
based in Val Caron, Ont.,
just north of Sudbury - is also
exploring a refinery in Thunder
Bay.
As mines and accompanying
processing projects advance,
the excitement around critical
minerals is building in northern
Ontario, said Pirie, Ontario's
first minister focused solely on
mining in more than 50 years.
Aside from jobs, the opportunity
to be a part of decarbonizing
the global economy is creating
a " renewed sense of purpose, "
especially for young people, he
said.
" What we're doing right now
is developing the sources of fuel
for the next generation, " Pirie
said. " These fuels aren't going to
be coming from the Middle East
or anywhere else. They're going
to be coming from our own backyard. "
- ANC
Automotive News Canada - January 2023

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