Huge Electric Car Purchase Rebates Returning To British Columbia
The Canadian province of British Columbia will once again soon be home to a purchase rebate program for electric cars — the Clean Energy Vehicle incentive program, to be specific — according to recent reports.
The incentive program will go back into effect starting on April 1st — so, only a few days from now. Good news for British Columbians considering purchasing an electric car! 🙂
The return of the purchase rebate program is apparently the result of many months of wrangling behind the scenes by electric vehicle (EV) advocates in the Canadian province, according to reports. It paid off, though! So I suppose that the work was worth it — a real success story, something that I wish we’d see more of the US with regard to EV support programs.
The new “Phase 2” of the Clean Energy Vehicle program more or less reinstates the incentives on offer during Phase 1 — which previously expired, all the way back in Spring 2014, after the initial money pot of CAD$14.6 million ran dry.
That money pot had been filled via a tax on fossil fuels that formed part of the province’s larger “carbon tax.”
Given that EV sales fell off a cliff in British Columbia after the last phase expired — but remained strong in the provinces of Quebec and Ontarion where incentives remained — the government of the province is clearly aiming to get going in that front once again, rather than fall too far behind.
The specifics:
- All plug-in electric vehicles are eligible for rebates (at point-of-purchase) of up to CAD$5,000.
- Unfortunately, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for some reason get access to a higher rebate, of CAD$6,000. Hmmm…
- These rebates can be combined with the federal government’s SCRAP-IT program (eg, the Canadian version of “Cash For Clunkers”) — currently offering up to CAD$3,250 to help drivers of car models dating to earlier than the year 2000 to upgrade.
Those interested can find the press release here.
On a related note, the City of Vancouver (in British Columbia) recently scrapped its hydrogen bus program — citing excessive costs. The transit authority there is now, apparently, switching back to diesel…. So, two steps forward, one step back, I guess.
Image Credit: Nissan
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