If governments are no longer able to support the purchase of electric vehicles and the establishment of adequate public charging infrastructure, they must withdraw the obligation imposed on players in the automobile sector to increase the supply of electric vehicles. these vehicles under penalty of penalties.
Published yesterday at 4:55 p.m.
Pierre Saint-Arnaud
The Canadian Press
The three major Canadian associations of automakers and dealers showed up in Ottawa on Tuesday to demand an end to mandates requiring the reduction of the supply of gasoline vehicles until their complete elimination within 10 years, in 2035 .
The day after Ottawa announced the suspension of the Zero Emission Vehicle Incentive Program (ZEV) due to a lack of funds, the president of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, Tim Royce, had this message for the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault: “Dear Minister Guilbeault, this is your program. If you can’t get adequate financing, eliminate it. »
Manufacturers and dealers had the same message for the Quebec government, which has begun the gradual reduction of its Roulez vert program which will end on 1is January 2027, but which will also suspend the payment of its subsidies between 1is February and March 31 because he too has exhausted the program envelope.
“Clear hypocrisy”
A year ago, Ottawa announced that as of 2026, at least 20% of vehicles on sale must be ZEVs, a percentage expected to increase every year to reach 60% in 2030 and 100% in 2035. In Quebec , the previously announced targets were even higher, standing at 32.5% in 2026, 60% in 2028, 85% in 2030 and 100% in 2035.
“We are seeing governments, both federal and provincial, disengage from a difficult and costly process that they themselves put in place. There is obvious hypocrisy in imposing ambitious targets for zero-emission vehicles and associated penalties on industry and consumers when governments show a clear lack of motivation and support to achieve these targets,” thundered Mr. Royce.
For his part, the president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association, Brian Kingston, criticized the federal government for having dictated ZEV manufacturing mandates with “ambitious” targets without having demonstrated that they were realistic, a criticism based on the fact that the industry had been excluded from the process. “Rather than seeking input from industry and experts, the government relied on ill-conceived analysis from environmental groups posing as auto experts,” he fumed.
Essential pillars: money and terminals
For industry leaders, the increase in ZEV sales is based on several factors, including two essential pillars: consumer incentives to compensate for the price gap and the development of a robust public charging infrastructure.
However, argues Mr. Kingston, in addition to this unforeseen interruption in federal aid, the development of charging stations has slowed down, with data showing that there were 3,000 fewer new stations in 2024 than in 2023 .
“It should be obvious to everyone by now that the ZEV sales targets provided for in federal and provincial mandates are no longer ambitious, but very imaginary. […] Dictating which vehicles Canadians can or cannot buy without providing them with the necessary support to go electric is a typically Canadian public policy failure. »
“Let’s be clear: we are not expecting a wave of sympathy towards car manufacturers or dealers,” declared David Adams, president and CEO of Global Automakers of Canada, from the outset. But he did not hide that the “complete lack of communication from Transport Canada over the last two business days” regarding the iZEV program has led to “chaos and confusion” both in the industry and among consumers.
“Unfair” comments
Talk of a pause in the program is “disloyal”, according to him, since the country is heading towards an election and there is absolutely no guarantee that the next government will maintain the program. Since circumstances “seem to ensure that federal ZEV targets will not be achieved, this will have significant consequences for manufacturers.”
In conclusion, industry spokespersons did not fail to point out that it is the dealers who advance the federal money to consumers, which saves them all the administrative burden of the program.
Except that Ottawa apparently closed, on Tuesday morning, the web portal used by dealers to submit subsidy applications, so that buyers who are entitled to it and who made their purchase on time no longer have any assurance that their request has passed the necessary steps. Dealers are asking Transport Canada to find a way to guarantee consumers who purchased a zero-emission vehicle on time that they will actually obtain their rebate.
