Ottawa, Ontario — Automakers must ensure an increasing percentage of Canadian new vehicle sales are zero-emissions, according to a new Electric Vehicle (EV) Availability Standard announced by the federal government.
According to a Tuesday press release, automakers will be required to ensure 20 percent of all sales are zero-emissions by 2026, followed by 60 percent by 2030 to meet the national target of 100 percent zero-emissions vehicles sales by 2035.
Automakers can earn “credits” in a variety of ways: by bringing zero-emissions vehicles (battery-electric, plug-in hybrid electric, hydrogen fuel cell) into the Canadian market; by purchasing credits from automakers that exceeded their own targets in a given year; or by investing in public charging stations/projects.
The standard was informed by extensive engagement over the last two years, reported the federal government, and follows a phased-in approach that allows for a “gradual and orderly switch to a 100 percent zero-emissions future.”
The standard is being touted as a way to guarantee consumers easier—and faster—access to electric vehicles, shortening length wait times that are thought to have been dampening consumer demand.
According to Statistics Canada data, one in eight new vehicles sold is an electric or plug-in hybrid; in Quebec, one in five new vehicles sold is electric and, in British Columbia, almost a quarter of new vehicle sales are electric.
“The Electric Vehicle Availability Standard helps Canada keep pace with the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and several other major economics which are all taking action to lower emissions and put more electric vehicles on the roads,” reads the government’s press release.
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