British Columbia is helping to lead the charge in not only electric vehicle (EV) sales, but electric vehicle awareness, in Canada.
This month, the Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) will once again host local government elected officials, including councillors, mayors and provincial MLA’s from all across British Columbia at their annual convention at the Vancouver Convention Centre at Canada Place. The New Car Dealers Association of BC (NCDA) is pleased to be able to once again offer a clean energy vehicle (CEV) Ride & Drive via the Clean Energy Point-of-Sale Purchase incentive Program (CEVforBC™), playing a key role in educating local leaders who may not have experienced EV’s first hand. Additional information will be made available on EV charging systems, and the importance of purchase incentives available for consumers and fleet purchases. And what’s more, we will have models ranging from compact cars to spacious crossovers.
One of those purchase incentives is CEVforBCTM– a province-wide program that allows British Columbians to potentially save money on the purchase of an EV. Through the CEVforBC™ program, residents, businesses and non-profit organizations who purchase or lease qualifying vehicles receive up to $5,000 off the pre-tax sticker price for a new battery electric, fuel-cell electric and plug-in hybrid EV and up to $6,000 off for a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. For more information on the program, visit www.cevforbc.ca.
We’re seeing that the incentive program is successfully accelerating the adoption of clean energy vehicles in British Columbia, providing both their environment and economic benefits. Increased use of clean energy vehicles like electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will help shift spending on transportation fuels to provincially generated electricity and hydrogen, and will help stimulate jobs and economic development in the local clean technology sector – a win for British Columbians.
And the proof is in the pudding. In 2016, 11,000 EVs were sold in Canada – a 56 per cent increase from the previous year, according to numbers from FleetCarma. To date, there are about 30,000 EVs on Canadian roads. Nearly 95 per cent of these sales occurred in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
Closer to home, in B.C. our goal is to hit an EV selling target of five per cent of light duty vehicles by 2020 (in B.C., March 2017 saw 4% of new car sales as EVs so we’re well on our way).
At this year’s UBCM, new car dealers are also looking forward to hearing Premier John Horgan’s address to the UBCM membership – traditionally an agenda setting speech in our province and his first as Premier. We hope we will hear word on much needed charging infrastructure investments which are key to encouraging British Columbians to make the decision to go electric.
Lastly, if you’re in the market for an EV visit a new car dealer in your community and test drive a new model today. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.
Blair Qualey is President and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of BC. You can email him at [email protected].
