Washington, D.C. — If the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed new vehicle emissions standards are passed, the U.S. will dictate OEM fleet-wide limits on emissions for vehicles between 2027 and 2032 model years.
The standards could result in EVs making up 67 percent of new vehicle sales by 2032, compared to Canada’s own mandate that requires 83 percent of new light-duty vehicles to be ZEVs.
The EPA’s proposed limits do not dictate goals for specific numbers of EVs sold in a period but rather put limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Automakers will be limited on the emissions each company’s fleet of sold vehicles will produce.
The Americans’ proposed regs have been called the “toughest ever” and “more stringent than anticipated.”
David Adams, CEO of Global Automakers of Canada, which represents foreign carmakers in Canada, says the proposed standards could push Ottawa to review its own mandates, as “it makes [Canada’s] ZEV mandate redundant [and] an unnecessary piece of regulatory burden.”
Spokeswoman for Environment and Climate Change Canada, Cecelia Parsons, says Canada will likely continue to align its mandates with the EPA emissions requirements, a common move by Canada throughout other recent climate endeavours.
Parsons said Ottawa is working toward the implementation of a ZEV sales mandate for automakers that will require all new light-duty vehicles to be electric by 2035. Experts have called for OEM sales mandates as a way to ensure EVs remain in supply in Canada–an issue that persisted in dealerships across the nation last year.
Daniel Breton, CEO of Electric Mobility Canada, told Automotive News Canada that enacting sales mandates would help secure Canada’s independence and decrease reliance on EV adoption progress south of the border.
Conversely, Adams told Automotive News Canada that a ZEV mandate for automakers would only maintain a certain ratio of EVs to ICE vehicles and not just higher volumes of electric units.
Ottawa has said that legislation will be enacted later this year.
