Electric car sales get boost from government incentives

A worker inspects a Nissan Sylphy Zero Emission, Nissan's first all-electric vehicle built in China, at a production line in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

Car retailers in the Montreal area say there's more interest in electric vehicles since federal and provincial governments introduced incentives to encourage green transportation.

Some dealers are even struggling to meet demand. “We are flooded by customers and they want to take advantage of the incentives," says Saint-Laurent Hyundai sales consultant Mohamed Habashy, who added that people purchasing electric vehicles are very informed about this type of technology.

According to Statistics Canada, the sales of electric vehicles across the country have risen by 8.3 per cent over the past year. Much of the increase is due to the federal and provincial incentives for buyers.

Fully electric cars that have starting prices of less than $45,000 are eligible for the federal $5,000 rebate. The Quebec government offers an $8,000 rebate for an electric vehicle purchase of less than $75,000.

The province announced Friday it will also subsidize 50 per cent of the cost of installing 240-volt electric charging stations at multi-dwelling units up to a maximum of $5000 per charging station, part of the government's plan to have 100,000 electric vehicles on Quebec's roads by 2020.

Many people have already taken advantage of subsidies, including Catherine Cook who just purchased a brand new Tesla 3. “People just have to look at the low maintenance cost and how cheaper they are to run compared to gas-powered cars and I don’t even have to pay tolls on many roadways," she said.

Cook said she wanted to do her part for the environment and is confident in the infrastructure supporting electric vehicles.

Last May the Electric Vehicle Show was in town, with over 70 exhibitors and over 23,000 participants. This event gave people a chance to see and drive various kinds of electric automobiles. The same show is taking place this weekend in Quebec City.

With a renewed push from various levels of government and industries to combat climate change, even car manufacturers are changing their model lineups to feature more electric choices for transportation.