Toronto, Ontario – In today’s EV/AV report, provincial governments respond to rising electric vehicle (EV) demand, Ford creates a new autonomous vehicle (AV) subdivision and experts explain why EV sales stagnate, despite rising demand and gas prices.
Subsidies fall
Want an EV? With these gas prices, so does everyone else–and the government has noticed.
With the price of oil rising with no signs of falling anytime soon, demand for EVs is steadily growing. Here are some of the ways provincial governments are responding.
- In Quebec, the maximum rebate for a new EV is dropping from $8,000 to $7,000 starting April 1.
- British Columbia has eliminated the provincial sales tax for EVs in its 2022 budget.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford is doubling down on the province’s elimination of EV subsidies in 2018, in response to the opposition pledging subsidies for upcoming provincial elections in June 2022.
Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have not created any EV incentive policies thus far.
Auto Fords, roll out
Following the decision to split Ford into sub-organizations specializing in internal combustion and electric vehicles, the American carmaker has created a new subdivision specializing in autonomous vehicles.
On Mar. 24, Ford’s chief executive officer, Jim Farley announced Ford Next, a new unit responsible for Ford’s autonomous vehicle development going forward.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Ford spokeswoman, Jennifer Flake said, “This reflects a more nuanced rebranding and repositioning of an existing group, not the creation of a new one or a significant structural shift.”
EV sales stagnating
Multiple sources suggest that EV sales have remained relatively stable, only modestly increasing despite rising gas prices. The reason?
EV supply hasn’t risen to match demand.
According to a Canada Drives blog post, web searches about EVs rose 423 percent when gas prices spiked earlier this March. However, Joanna Kyriazis, program manager at Clean Energy Canada says that EV supply issues have not caught up with spiking gas prices and EV demand from Canadians.
Prior examination suggests that even without the issue of gas prices, the demand for EVs exists – so long as the market is willing to meet Canadian market requirements, such as EVs ready for the north’s harsh winters.
