Canada will require EV sales by the middle of the next decade. This is the message that Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Environment Minister, has sent in the new regulations that his office released earlier this week.
Proposed regulations mandate that electric vehicles must be used for 20 percent of vehicle sales by 2026, and 60 percent by 2030. All passenger cars sold in the country by 2035 will be electric. The regulations can be enforced against importers and automakers, as well as fines. However, the industry must work hard to meet those goals. CTVNews reported that EVs/PHEVs accounted only for 7.2 percent of new car registrations by 2022.
Many in Canada’s auto industry don’t believe the government is doing everything right. According to one executive, the country needs more EV infrastructure in order to achieve its sales goals. Another executive noted the long waiting times for desirable EV models as a barrier to adoption and stated that the urgent climate emergency required consumers to switch to EVs as soon as possible.
Others were happy with the announcement but cautious about the implementation of the policy. Clean Energy Canada, an advocacy group, stated that penalties must be legally enforced. However, it warned that this process is complex and time-consuming. This point is further supported by the fact that although parts of Canada have EV sales targets already, the government did not enforce them and could not get the industry on board.
According to previous estimates, the Government of Canada estimated that 395,000 EVs would be sold by 2026, 1.2 million in 2030, and 2.0 million in 2035 in order to reach the sales goals. This would translate to roughly 4.6 million EVs on roads by 2030, and 12.4 million by 2035.
It is expected that the government will announce a points system for tracking EV sales. Electric vehicles will receive a greater credit than plug-in hybrids. Although this sounds great on paper, in Canada, just as here, PHEVs offer a better option for those who live in rural and remote areas.
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