Used zero-emission cars need better subsidies, automotive group

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – B.C.’s subsidies for new electric and hydrogen vehicles has used car dealers asking why they aren’t getting the same treatment as the province moves towards a phased ban on the sale of new combustion engine vehicles.

If the province wants to meet its emissions goals and encourage more people, particularly from middle and low-income households, to purchase zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), Automotive Retailers Association (ARA) president Ken McCormack says he doesn’t believe it can be done with new cars alone.

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“Let’s face it, people who are buying new vehicles are the more affluent people,” he said. “But a lot of people still want the conveniences and economies of an electric vehicle so they’re going to buy used. So why aren’t they getting the same incentive that a more affluent population is getting on new?”

Premier John Horgan announced Tuesday his government plans to introduce legislation next spring to require new car dealers to gradually increase the percentage of ZEVs they sell. The goal is to have all new vehicle sales to be ZEVs by 2040.

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It also announced an additional $20 million for incentive programs, administered by the New Car Dealers Association of BC, to encourage people to buy ZEVs. Car owners can apply for up to $5,000 for qualifying new battery electric, fuel-cell electric, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and up to $6,000 for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

The province is a partner of SCRAP-IT, a program that offers several incentive options for people who trade in their approved old vehicle to buy an electric vehicle. The program offers $6,000 to those who buy new and $3,000 for used, but has since run out of funding for the year.

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So while a person can get up to $12,000 to buy a new ZEV, they can only get $3,000 for a used.

ARA has submitted a proposal to the province to extend more subsidies to used cars, but McCormick says he has not heard whether it will become a reality.

“Arguably the people that are looking for used vehicles need that incentive more than the people that are looking at new ones,” he said. “As you can imagine, (new car dealers) only want those incentives for new cars. They don’t want competition,” he said.

The province says there are 12,000 registered clean energy vehicles registered in B.C.

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