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Montreal, January 21, 2025 - In the wake of recent announcements concerning federal and provincial subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles, Équiterre says that the logical next step is to have the auto industry lower the price of their vehicles.
“Governments and taxpayers have been doing their part for many years. It’s given the electric vehicle market a boost. Now it's the automakers turn to put some effort on that front.”
-Blandine Sebileau, sustainable mobility analyst at Équiterre
“The question remains: do these subsidies now serve consumers or manufacturers? The industry has chosen to move towards ever larger, more energy-hungry and, ultimately, more expensive electric models. Without the subsidies, these models suddenly become less attractive. It's not up to citizens and governments to foot the bill,” she adds.
A counterproductive strategy
According to Équiterre, the auto industry's recent calls to scrap the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) standard, which requires manufacturers to sell a growing volume of electric vehicles or face financial penalties, not only undermine Quebec's electrification targets, but also conceal a desire to protect their profit margins.
“The whole point of setting sales targets under the standard is to force manufacturers to adjust the prices of their vehicles to make them attractive and genuinely affordable for people,” explains Blandine Sebileau.
Some manufacturers, such as Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Ford and Volkswagen, have already begun to offer price reductions to remedy the situation.
“They have the capacity to do it. The public doesn’t hate to be penalized again, it’s not inevitable,” she adds.
Next steps for governments
Finally, Équiterre asks the provincial and federal governments to clarify their vision for the next steps, not only in terms of car electrification, but in terms of broader decarbonization of the transportation sector.
“If we consider the funds that the end of subsidies will free up, we open the door wide to all kinds of alternatives for financing the transition of the transportation sector. Beyond the electrification of vehicles, these sums could be used for the deployment and operation of public transport, for example”, concludes Blandine Sebileau.
The organization also points out that it would be more effective to set up a vehicle feebate system to boost up the development of models that consume less energy and cost less, while allowing the electric vehicle support program to be self-financing: a request Équiterre has been making to governments for many years.
Équiterre's offices are located on Indigenous lands that have not been ceded by treaty, which we now call Montreal and Quebec City. We recognize that Indigenous peoples have protected their territories since immemorial times and have used their traditional knowledge to guard the lands and waters. We are grateful to live on these lands and are committed to continuing our efforts to protect them. Read more »
