Question Period Note: Zero-Emission Vehicles

• The Government of Canada is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors, including the transportation sector which, represents almost a quarter of Canada’s total annual emissions.
• To move towards decarbonizing of the transportation sector, the Government has set ambitious Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV) sales targets of 10% of new light-duty vehicle sales by 2025, 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2040.
• To help meet these targets, Budget 2019 allocated $700 million towards new measures, including a federal incentive of up to $5,000 for the purchase or lease of eligible ZEVs.
• The incentive program has already had a positive impact on Canadian ZEV sales. Between May and October, ZEV sales were up 27% compared with last year.

• Zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) are vehicles that can operate without producing tailpipe emissions, such as battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
• One ZEV on the road can prevent 4 metric tonnes of GHG emissions per year. ZEVs have the potential to significantly reduce Canada’s GHG emissions.
• To accelerate adoption of ZEVs in Canada, a number of federal initiatives are underway, such as investments in charging infrastructure across the country, a business tax write-off for the purchase of ZEVs, voluntary supply agreements with automakers, and an Incentive for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) Program. Other Government measures are also incenting greater availability and adoption of ZEVs in Canada, including carbon pricing, the Clean Fuel Standard and the LDV GHG regulations.
• A number of provinces have also implemented programs and other measures to increase the up-take of ZEVs. Both Quebec and British Columbia provide purchase incentives for new ZEVs. Quebec also has a ZEV mandate that requires automakers to meet ZEV sales targets, and BC is in the process of developing a regulation that will require automakers to meet sales targets towards the full phase out of the sale of combustion engine LDVs in the province by 2040.
Federal iZEV Program
• The federal iZEV program provides a point-of-sale rebate for the purchase or lease of eligible ZEVs under $45,000, as the higher purchase price of ZEVs is a barrier to ZEV uptake. Under the program there are two levels of incentives:
• Battery-electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and longer range plug-in hybrid vehicles are eligible for an incentive of $5,000; and,
• Shorter range plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are eligible for an incentive of $2,500.
• Since its launch in May 2019, over 30,000 Canadians and Canadian businesses have benefitted from the point-of-sale incentive.

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