By CRM Staff
Toronto, Ontario — November 19, 2018 — A majority of Canadian bodyshops will see less electric vehicles come through their doors, thanks to a provincial strategy intended to increase electric vehicle sales.
The strategy, which works to counterbalance market forces that increase combustion engine vehicle probability, will ironically limit the number of EV’s bought and sold in most provinces, due to an overall disinterest by provincial governments.
Currently only Quebec enforces the zero-emission rules, with rumours that British Columbia could soon announce a similar scheme of their own. With only two provinces involved in the initiative and no clear sign of a national ZEV mandate on the horizon, a majority of electric vehicles will be sucked out of other parts in Canada in order to meet the demand of Quebec and B.C., without increasing the total national supply.
“Most electric vehicles that are earmarked for the Canadian market are likely be going to be going to those two provinces,” Dan Woynillowicz, policy director with Clean Energy Canada, told CBC.
The looming provincial shortage will likely benefit most provincial collision repair shops, as bodyshops generate more revenue from combustion-engine vehicle maintenance, due to electric vehicles having few moving parts.
Consumers will be on the short-end of the stick as both vehicle selection and availability will be limited.
The Federal government considered a national plan with Transport Canada last year, which would promise to develop a Canada-wide strategy to increase the number of zero-emission vehicles on Canadian roads by 2018. According to experts however, and advisory group that included carmakers and environmentalists became deadlocked, with the group’s report still having not been released.
“I think, for quite awhile, most of the automakers didn’t want it because they said, ‘We’ll make sure the supply is there,’” Cara Clairman, CEO of Plug’n Drive, told CBC.
“But if the supply isn’t there, I think there becomes more and more public pressure to have a ZEV mandate.”
