The federal government is set to announce later this week that all new cars will have to be electric by 2035, according to reports.
Zero-emission vehicles must make up 20% of all new car sales in 2026, 60% in 2030 and 100% in 2035, according to a senior government source quoted by CTV News.
Such vehicles include battery electric, plug-in, and hydrogen models of cars. Electric vehicle sales currently make up 13% of all global vehicle sales, with some forecasts showing they will rise to 40-45% by 2030.
Canada is planning to implement new regulations titled the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, according to the government source, that are meant to ensure supply of EVs to the Canadian market and shorten the waiting times to receive one.
Demand for EVs has slowed since last year. As reported by the Globe and Mail, “In June 2022, EV sales were growing about 90 per cent year over year. By June of this year the 12-month growth rate had slowed to about 50 per cent, and automakers have become increasingly fearful that the pace will weaken further.”
According to a new survey published by Consumer Reports, electric vehicles are nearly 80% less reliable than conventional vehicles.
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As of July, two-thirds (66%) of Canadians were either ‘very unlikely’ or ‘somewhat unlikely’ to purchase an electric car as their next vehicle — up 13% from last year. Even the federal government avoids purchasing EVs since they are costly, with only 3% of government-issued vehicles being zero emission.
A recent survey from Consumer Reports established that EVs encounter nearly 80% more problems than their conventional gas-powered counterparts. A study from earlier this year also found that the vehicles could lose up to 30% of their range in freezing temperatures, a serious hurdle to the 2035 targets.
