Federal Budget Elements Needed to Achieve New Federal Targets for Zero Emissions Vehicle Sales

Ottawa, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 1, 2022) - Today, the presidents of Canada's three major automotive trade associations-the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association, and Global Automakers of Canada- addressed the key Budget elements needed to ensure the federal government's zero emissions vehicle sales targets can be achieved.

The leaders outlined a seven-point plan in the wake of the federal Liberal government's most recent announcement of a new plan to reach 100% zero emissions vehicle sales.

The following seven measures are required in Budget 2022:

1. Triple consumer incentives: Leading ZEV jurisdictions have shown that consumer purchase incentives are the single most powerful driver of ZEV adoption. Budget 2022 should include long-term funding for the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) program to increase the maximum consumer incentive amount to $15,000.

2. Expand iZEV eligibility: Approximately 80 per cent of new vehicles sales in Canada are of SUVs and pick up trucks. To make ZEVs accessible and affordable for all Canadians, Budget 2022 should expand the iZEV eligibility parameters to apply to a larger range of ZEVs coming to market.

3. Commit to regulatory alignment with the United States: Canada's auto industry, and the hundreds of thousands of people it employs, depends on regulatory alignment with the United States. Decoupling Canada from the integrated North American automotive market with a redundant and unnecessary ZEV sales mandate threatens automotive investment, jobs, and Canada's place in the emerging ZEV supply chain. Budget 2022 should reaffirm Canada's commitment to regulatory alignment with the federal United States to achieve our shared ZEV sales goals.

4. Commit to building 4 million public chargers to support 40 million ZEVs (1 public charger per 10 ZEVs on the road): Canada will require millions of publicly accessible chargers to achieve its ZEV targets. Budget 2022 should commit government to maintaining a ratio of public charger to ZEVs on the road with emphasis on Level 2 and DC Fast chargers. The ratio of public chargers to ZEVs should be measured and assessed on an annual basis.

5. Commit to building street charging infrastructure in urban centres: Home charging is not a viable option for the one-third of Canadians who live in multi-unit residential buildings or dwellings without access to a driveway or garage. As part of the commitment to build 4 million publicly accessible chargers, Budget 2022 should dedicate funds to installing publicly accessible street Level 2 charging infrastructure for Canadians in urban centre.

6. Commit to building hydrogen fuelling infrastructure for Fuel Cell Vehicles: The development and advancement of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles lags the development of electric vehicles, however it is anticipated that hydrogen fuel cells will be a key technology in the near future to reduce emissions for primarily commercial applications. Budget 2022 should focus on ensuring that a basic, national hydrogen fuelling infrastructure is built out in anticipation of this transition and to drive hydrogen fuel cell adoption.

7. Eliminate the luxury tax for ZEVs: Implementing a luxury tax on ZEVs works against efforts by automakers to boost ZEV sales and threatens Canada's ability to achieve the 2035 sales target. Budget 2022 should remove ZEVs from the proposed luxury tax.

The three associations have worked to form the "Road to 2035: Destination Zero Emissions" website at www.roadto2035.ca where the key factors that will accelerate ZEV adoption by consumers are outlined and elaborated on.

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For more information or interviews:

David Adams
President & CEO
Global Automakers of Canada
dadams@globalautomakers.ca
416-333-2873

Brian Kingston
President & CEO
Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association
bkingston@cvma.ca
613-513-9626

Tim Reuss
President & CEO
Canadian Automobile Dealers Association
huw@cada.ca
613-797-9583

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/118933