B.C. Premier David Eby said industry concerns over a pause in the province's electric vehicle rebate program should be taken seriously but need to be measured against the need to halt the flow of public money to Tesla Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA) owner Elon Musk.
On Tuesday, the province said it would pause the electric vehicle rebate program starting May 15, at that point effectively halting up to $4,000 in individual rebates meant to help B.C. consumers purchase a new battery-powered car.
Blair Qualey, CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of BC, told BIV that decision would push the province’s EV sales targets even further out of reach.
Eby acknowledged those concerns at a Thursday press conference announcing a flurry of new legislation meant to speed up the construction of new infrastructure and renewable energy projects.
“Their concerns are real,” said Eby.
The premier said Minister of Energy Adrian Dix would be working with the association, which has administered the EV rebate program on the province’s behalf, to review how it functions. That process is part of a wider review of the province’s flagship climate policies known as CleanBC.
“One of the things that I want to make sure is that we’re not sending money to Elon Musk through this program,” added Eby. “That we’re actually supporting British Columbians getting into zero-emissions vehicles.”
B.C.'s mandatory EV sales targets requires 26 per cent of passenger vehicles sold by 2026 to be zero-emissions vehicles, a threshold that rises to 90 per cent by 2030. Automakers can be penalized $20,000 per vehicle for failing to meet that target.
Some experts say strengthening B.C.’s electric vehicle rebate program could put those targets within reach, but only if the rebates are expanded to target middle-income families who have the desire and resources to buy an EV.
The pause in the rebate program comes as B.C. revealed it is likely to only meet half its 2030 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A report released this week found the province would fall more than 13 megatonnes short of hitting its interim goal of reducing emissions 40 per cent below 2007 levels by 2030.
That’s equivalent to the annual pollution from almost four million passenger vehicles.
