CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC
Automakers hope Carney will pull plug on EV sales mandate
The head of an organization that represents automakers said he’s ‘cautiously optimistic’ after meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney to urge him to repeal the electric vehicle sales mandate.
Canadian vehicle Manufacturers’ Association chief executive Brian Kingston joined the CEOs of Ford Canada, Stellantis Canada and GM Canada in a meeting with the prime minister last Wednesday in Ottawa.
Along with discussing the effects of U.S. tariffs – the primary focus of the meeting – the automakers told Carney, there’s no way the industry can meet the targets set out in the EV mandate.
The industry has long argued the mandate is unnecessary since Canada already has other policies to meet its emission reductions targets.
“Why would you put an EV mandate on top of your existing (greenhouse gas) regulations? It makes absolutely no sense,” Kingston told The Canadian Press.
“Now, what’s changed since it was designed and came into force is that we’ve had this collapse in EV sales.”
The EV sales mandate requires that 20% of all new light duty vehicles sold in Canada next year be zero-emission. The target rises annually to 100% in 2035.
The most recent data from Statistics Canada shows EVs accounted for just 7.53% of all new vehicles sold in Canada in April. EV sales peaked at 18.29% in December, the last month before funding ran out of a popular rebate program.
Known as iZev, the rebates offered up to $5000 off of the cost of a new electric vehicle, but the program was suspended in January and that month sales dipped to 11.95%.
Sales further fell to 6.8% in February with the loss of the federal rebate program, and 6.53% in March. They climbed slightly in April after Quebec reintroduced its own provincial rebate, which will be gradually phased out by January 2027.
“If we are going to hit the 2026 mandated target of 20% of EV sales, you would have to grow (zero – emission vehicle) sales by 180,000 units,” Kingston said.
“There is simply no way that, that can occur on such a short timeline, given all of the current market forces at play.”
While the government has indicated it plans to bring back some form of customer rebate for EV’s, Kingston said making such a promise without a firm timeline promises to undermine EV sales even further.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly said in May the government was looking at bringing back “support programs” for EV’s. Last month, Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin told The Canadian Press that Ottawa is working on bringing back a rebate program.
The Liberal party’s election platform promised to look at ways to “reintroduce a purchase incentive worth up to $5,000”
“Comments from ministers in the public suggesting that an EV incentive is coming back are extremely damaging” Kingston said.
“If the government is going to bring it back, they’ve got to be clear about that with the plan and the timeline, and it has to be quick because if you tell people it’s going to be in three months, than no one will purchase an EV for the next three months.
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