STANDARD ON THE AVAILABILITY OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Montréal, December 19, 2023- Propulsion Québec, the electric and intelligent transportation industry cluster, welcomes the announcement of a standard and sales requirements for zero-emission vehicles in Canada, to ensure that 100% of new vehicle sales in the country will be ZEVs by 2035. The announcement, made today by the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Canada's Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Anita Anand, President of the Treasury Board, and Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, also includes interim targets of at least 20% by 2026 and 60% by 2030.
"Today marks another important step in the electrification process in Canada. Setting targets, as Quebec has done, will enable us to be prioritized by automakers, which will improve the offer for consumers. We need to stay the course and support the acquisition of electric vehicles, as well as the deployment of charging stations through incentive programs. "says Michelle LLambias Meunier, CEO of Propulsion Québec.
Accelerating the deployment of charging infrastructures
The deployment of electric and intelligent vehicles and charging infrastructures inevitably go hand in hand. It will therefore be essential to accelerate the deployment of charging infrastructures across the country, not only to meet the needs of users and operators, but also to ensure the success of the energy transition and meet GHG reduction and carbon neutrality targets. In this regard, we recommend the rapid renewal of the Program for Infrastructure for Zero Emission Vehicles (PIVEZ), aimed at companies, organizations and provincial, territorial, regional or municipal administrations.
Extending the VZE standard to other vehicle types
VisitEmissions reduction plan for 2030 The Government of Canada has already set a target of 35% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold to be VZEs by 2030. We therefore encourage the government to extend the standard in order to stimulate the development and sale of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in the country, as well as contributing significantly to the reduction of GHG emissions in this sector. Such a standard will nevertheless need to take into account the technological maturity of vehicles, and be accompanied by complementary upstream actions, such as :
- Continue to roll out a network of public and private charging stations for medium and heavy commercial vehicles;
- Maintain and expand incentives and subsidy programs for various heavy vehicles in line with new technologies and make them sustainable over the longer term;
- Support research, development, demonstration (RD-D) and commercialization of medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles, batteries and new charging and energy management solutions;
- Support local production of medium-heavy EVs and their components;
- Support the development of initiatives to enhance interoperability and intelligent recharging for medium and heavy vehicle fleets.
About Propulsion Québec
Quebec's electric and intelligent transportation cluster mobilizes all players in the industry around concerted projects with the aim of positioning Quebec among the leaders in the development and implementation of ground transportation modes that promote electric and intelligent transportation. Created in 2017, Propulsion Québec today has more than 260 members from different sectors and deploys its resources in seven distinct workstreams aimed at developing and supporting innovative projects. The cluster is financially supported by the Government of Quebec, the Government of Canada, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM), Quebec City, Mouvement Desjardins, Fasken, Hydro-Québec, Québecor and CDPQ.
