The Canadian Electric Vehicle thread

[OldDartmouthMark]

There has been a long EV discussion on the "Lamenting the decline of the car" thread, which became a large tangent that drove the thread somewhat off-topic. So I thought I'd start a new thread in the Canada section specifically for EVs, so the other thread could continue as it was meant, and perhaps the bulk of EV-specific posts could be placed in this thread.

I'll start off the thread with this article:
https://globalnews.ca/news/8443068/e...-suvs-pickups/

The federal government wants to overhaul the rebate program for electric vehicles so that it more closely aligns with the kinds of cars Canadians want to buy, says Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.

The Liberals promised in their election platform to spend another $1.5 billion over the next four years on the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) program, which is one part of a big push to get more electric vehicles on the roads as Canada strives to reach net zero by 2050.

The current program has been immensely popular, but Alghabra is looking at improvements.

Right now, the program restricts the rebates to new vehicles with a maximum base price of $45,000, and a maximum price for models with upgraded features of $55,000.

That will leave out many of the new SUVs and pickup trucks that will start flooding the market next year, including the F-150 Lightning electric pickup that Ford says will start around $58,000.

“The vast majority of vehicles purchased today are SUVs and pickup trucks, and while (zero-emission vehicle) options are becoming available for these segments, many of these will be priced out of the current iZEV program,” Alghabra said in a written statement issued by his office.

While I understand the benefit to the environment of giving the EV market a boost, I have to say that it makes me a little uneasy that the government wants to use tax money to basically help wealthy people buy big SUVs and pickups, even if they are electric-powered, while many people of lesser means are struggling to find a place to live or to keep an old junker of a car running so they can get to work and move their families around.

What do you think?