Ottawa’s ZEV Incentives More Popular Than Ever So Far in 2024
Canadians are not letting high prices and interest rates prevent them from getting their hands on a new electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid—thanks to Ottawa.
A total of 95,775 Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) claims were made by dealers on behalf of customers during the first half of 2024. That’s more than double the number from the same period in 2023, the latest data from Transport Canada shows.
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The iZEV program includes rebates of up to $5,000 for eligible battery-electric models as well as plug-in hybrids with a zero-emission range of at least 50 km ($2,500 if range is shorter than 50 km). In order to qualify, cars must have a base MSRP under $55,000. In the case of SUVs, pickups, minivans and wagons, the limit is $60,000 in base trim.
Around $464.5 million were needed to fund all these claims during the first six months of the year compared with $221.6 million a year ago. More than half (54.8 percent) of that money went to customers in Quebec.
Tesla was once again the brand with the most rebate requests (23,630), followed by Hyundai (12,450) and Ford (9,815).
When looking at specific models, the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 led the way with 16,987 and 6,643 claims, respectively. In third place was the Hyundai Kona Electric (4 943).
As for plug-in hybrids, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV remained comfortably on top, generating 6,187 iZEV claims during the first half of 2024. The Toyota RAV4 Prime came in second (4,695).
Fun fact: a first customer in Nunavut benefited from the federal rebate this year, and that was for an Outlander PHEV.