It seems gas guzzler are running out of road with the federal government unveiling its plan to put the brakes on gas-powered vehicle sales over the next 12 years
“We have set ambitious targets to reduce our emissions by at least 40 percent by at least 2030 and a large part of this mission is to put more electric vehicles on the road,” said Filomena Tassi, minister responsible for the federal economic development agency for southern Ontario
The new mandate means 20 per cent of all vehicle sales in the country must be electric by 2026, 60 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035
“It’s a big challenge,” said Political Science Professor at the University of Windsor, Lydia Miljan
She said the government can make mandates, but that doesn’t equal immediate buy in from the public
“What we saw this year is they can put a lot on the market but it’s not that Canadians are actually going to purchase those vehicles,” she added
Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association President Flavio Volpe takes it one step further and said, “It’s not reality based.”
He told AM00’s The Shift, these targets aren’t possible
“100 per cent is impossible. For lots of reasons. Take it from me, who loves the industry. I love what we’re doing from a technology point of view in converting to evs. We have to have a more holistic approach.”
The electric vehicle society doesn’t hold that same view, “I think we’re on track to even exceed those targets for 2026 and then the 2030, 2035 targets will just fall in line from there,” said Devin Arthur, director of government relations, ev society. “I think we’re on track to even exceed those targets for 2026 and then the 2030, 2035 targets will just fall in line from there.”
The announcement was applauded by environmental groups but industry skepticism remains where rubber hits the road
Charging those vehicles still poses problems with the current infrastructure
Volpe questioned how someone who lives in an upper-floor condo but parks on the street would charge their car
While Miljan ponders a political consideration, “I think what this really ties into is the next election. I think it’s going to be an election about climate change.”
