Policy Details - Light-Duty EV Consumer Adoption Purchase Incentives
1. Continue purchase incentives for new passenger EVs but focus on value for electric-only range to include long range electric cars, SUVs and pickup trucks.
Until EVs reach price parity in sticker price, incentives are needed to “level the playing field” between electric and gas cars. New vehicle incentives also help grow the supply of used EVs in the market, bringing down the price of used electric cars over time. The federal EV rebate program needs to be updated to support the types of vehicles Canadians want to buy: long-range electric cars, SUVs and pickup trucks. Going forward, Canada should base eligibility on a straightforward evaluation of price relative to electric range, rather than sticker price alone.
More Policy Details
The purchase incentive program in Canada continues to be successful in accelerating the transition to electric mobility but more should be done to accommodate long range zero emission vehicles, including SUVs and pickup trucks which are so often the focus of Canadian consumers. Until EVs reach price parity in sticker price then, point-of-sale purchase incentives are needed to “level the playing field” between electric and combustion cars for consumers. New vehicle incentives also help grow the supply of used EVs in the market, bringing down vehicle costs in that segment over time. However, moving forward, Canada should base eligibility on a straightforward evaluation of price relative to electric range, not sticker price. Put simply, if a given trim of a zero-emission car, crossover or SUV costs less than $145 (MSRP) per kilometer of range (EPA/NRCan) offered it should be eligible. If a trim of a ZEV pickup truck costs less than $180 per kilometer of range it too should be eligible. All zero emission vehicles under $45,000 in price should remain eligible, regardless of their price-to-range value. This incentive could also be extended to plugin hybrids (PHEVs) at this price point.