Electric vehicle sales took a sharp tumble in Ontario when the Ford government cancelled subsidies for the high-end cars a year ago.
Fresh off their election win, the PCs said there was no sense in subsidizing vehicles for wealthy people that could afford to spend the extra money for a green car.
It’s a point the premier made in Hamilton after touring the industrial city where steel for many Ontario-made vehicles is made.
“The common folks here in Hamilton have a big problem giving rebates up to $16,000 of their hard-earned money to millionaires buying $80,000 cars, $100,000 cars,” Premier Ford said last August.
It’s a valid point, even if not every electric car is a $100,000 Tesla.
The most popular electric vehicle in the first three months of 2019 was the Tesla Model 3, and those start at $43,000.
Of course they compare to a Toyota Corolla in terms of the kind of sedan you get, and Corollas start at $18,900.
Between the beginning of January and the end of March this year, just 1,219 electric vehicles were sold — compared to 2,633 electric vehicles over the same period in 2018.
That’s a 55% drop in sales according to Electric Mobility Canada, an industry group that compiled the figures and wrote the report.
Environmental activists and those that simply oppose the Ford government will look at these numbers and say they are proof that the PCs made a big mistake a year ago.
What all of these eco morons fail to realize is all charging stations are built with and most run using fossil fuels in one way or another
Most electricity in Canada is produced using fossil fuels now that zealots like Climate Bimbo Nutley and Whynnebag ruined the coal industry
If these over priced electric POS were so great No subsidies would be required They would sell them selves
Reality is we live in Canada
It is winter 8 months of the year
These electric vehicles are limited in travel distances between charges Even in ideal conditions
Add – 40 c to the mix and your fully charged battery is good for about 5 % of the regular travel cycle
You know anything the Government is willing to subsidize is a total failure and junk they want to shove down our throats
If you are so smart then build a car/SUV/truck that will do what you want without using fossil fuels. https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/2/16/16926950/hydrogen-fuel-technology-economy-hytech-storage
A great article how ever everything they propose also involved the use of fossil fuels at one point
They might be able to eliminate fossil fuels at one point in time but we are not there yet
We could use methane sourced from sewage and garbage to power these vehicles.
If a product or service cannot compete on the open market without government subsidies, it should just be allowed to wither and die (CBC comes to mind). That’s capitalism, baby – and it’s awesome! Big spending lefties just don’t get that – indeed, they never met a failure that more tax dollars could not turn into an even bigger failure! Bloody idiots.
Hmm. When consumers have to pay the entire price of the car rather than using money taxed from others to hide what the true price is fewer want them. There might be a lesson in this and to include other subsidized products like solar panels and windmills.
People are catching on ,
Electric cars are just another scam
FUCK EM
Gee. Never saw that coming.
KIA Soul – internal combustion = $26,000
KIA Soul EV = $52,000 , just for a few batteries and an electric motor. It doesn’t even have a power seat and is as uncomfortable as hell. Like the Chevy version, the seats are not much more than colored cardboard.
It should cost LESS to make an electric vehicle. No internal combustion engine. No exhaust system. Just an electric motor.
When I pointed that out to the KIA sales jerk, he laughed. He said the prices wouldn’t be nearly as high if there weren’t any subsidies. The various Governments are deliberately shoveling massive profits to the dealers, probably in return for big donations. Here on the Island there are almost as many car dealerships as there are fast food joints, so their profits are obviously massive.
It does, but people are willing to pay the premium to be smug over their car choice.
The uppidity bastards are paying now YAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AHM. You forgot the batteries.
They should sell them “BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED”
Batteries are expensive. That $600 laptop you buy only costs $100 for the parts, $300 for the batteries and the rest is profit. I made my last 3 laptops and the batteries were the most expensive item to buy.