Auto Industry Urges Ottawa to End ZEV Sales Mandates
A day after Transport Canada officially halted its Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) Program, representatives from automakers and dealers gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday to formally call for the end of the federal ZEV sales mandates brought in by the government in 2023.
"Yesterday's announcement to halt all consumer incentives for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) comes at the same time as a slowdown in the buildout of public charging infrastructure. As a result of these developments, the federal government's mandated ZEV sales targets are increasingly unrealistic and must end,” said Brian Kingston, President and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association.
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- Also: Quebec’s EV Rebate Program to Be Halted For Months, May Not Return
In an email sent to the auto industry on Monday, Transport Canada confirmed that all funds have been exhausted and requested manufacturers, dealers and authorized sellers to stop offering the iZEV incentives—up to $5,000 for eligible vehicles—to customers.
According to Kingston, mandating Canadians to buy ZEVs without providing them the supports needed to switch to electric is “a made-in-Canada policy failure.”
His sentiments were shared by Tim Reuss, President and CEO of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, who deplored the fact that the Liberal federal government has backed away from supporting the transition to electric vehicles.
“Now we are left with a completely unrealistic plan at the federal level,” he said. “There is hypocrisy in imposing ambitious ZEV mandates and penalties on consumers when the government is showing a clear lack of motivation and support for their own policy.”
Reuss added that ending the iZEV program while maintaining ZEV sales mandates will be “a disaster for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the Canadian economy.”
Faced with the prospect of unsold electric vehicles piling up on dealer lots, the industry would like the incentives to remain in place until at least price parity has largely been achieved with conventionally powered vehicles.
“If the government is going to mandate manufacturers to put ZEVs into the marketplace and pay severe penalties for not doing so, then government needs to ensure that it is doing its part to address key barriers to EV uptake—price and infrastructure,” said David Adams, President and CEO of Global Automakers of Canada, which represents over 20 car brands from overseas.
“If they are not prepared to do that, then the federal government (and Quebec and B.C.) must consider revising or eliminating their mandates as the fundamental assumptions and EV adoption rates on which the mandates were based have changed.”
The probability of a federal election this spring and the Conservatives taking over in Ottawa will likely bring revisions to the current ZEV sales mandates, forcing the auto industry to adjust long-term plans yet again.