B.C. auto dealers call for pause on EV mandates as rebate programs phase out

Auto dealers in B.C. say the loss of the provincial electric vehicle rebate will cause prices to rise on all new cars and trucks.

As the province pushes pause on its electric vehicle rebate program, British Columbia auto dealers say the move will make all light-duty cars and trucks more expensive.

Until May 15, eligible buyers can qualify for up to $4,000 in incentives on electric vehicles and certain plug-in electric hybrids.

Money allocated for a similar federal program ran out earlier this year.

Combined the two programs knocked up to $9,000 off the price of a new electric vehicle.

“Price is always the thing. So, having $9,000 there on the hood of the car for the transaction was a great help to customers,” said Blair Qualey, president and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of B.C.

The end of the rebates brings another potential problem.

The province’s Zero-Emissions Vehicle Act mandates that at least 26 per cent of light-duty cars and trucks sold in B.C. next year must be electric.

That rises to 90 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035.

Manufacturers who do not meet those targets could be hit with penalties of up to $20,000 per additional fossil-fuel powered vehicle.

“I’ve been calling it a ‘freight train of pain’ coming at B.C. consumers if the government is intransigent and stays with the accelerator down on these mandates,” Qualey said.

Now that the EV rebates are gone, Qualey is calling on the province to slow the mandatory transition to electric.

Asked about it on Wednesday, the energy minister was steadfast that the province will press on.

“The mandates continue to be in place. They’re in legislation. And we’re going to work with the industry, work with the environmental industry, and review Clean BC to make sure we’re continuing to make the progress we need to make,” Adrian Dix told CTV News.

Last year, 22.4 per cent of light-duty vehicles sold in the province were electric.

If that doesn’t rise to 26 per cent by the end of 2026, people buying gas-powered cars and trucks could pay a steep price.