Prince Edward Island has created new legislation to allow residents to purchase electric vehicles anywhere in Atlantic Canada and still receive incentives, which one EV expert said should help dealers in neighbouring provinces.
Jérémie Bernardin, President of the Electric Vehicle Association of Atlantic Canada and Co-Founder of All EV Canada that was purchased by Steele Auto Group in July 2021, welcomed the news. He said P.E.I. has the most generous rebates in Atlantic Canada.
“We’re happy to support the province as best we can,” said Bernardin. “We’ve been involved since the very start, prior to the Steele acquisition, and we’ve worked with governments in all four provinces and helped them whenever they had questions. We’re seeing a really big push, and a lot of leadership in the space in all four Atlantic provinces, and in our (EV) world it’s really impressive, and we’ll do everything we can to support those initiatives.
“I think (the province of P.E.I.) is trying to bring in as many vehicles as possible and open the gates for consumers to purchase.”
The change, which was announced March 2, will allow residents to purchase any type of EV and still be eligible for PEI’s Universal Electric Vehicle Incentive. The incentive has also expanded to include even more new and used vehicles as well as converted EVs from PEI’s Upcycle Green Technologies. Moreover, used vehicles with a sticker price of up to $70,000 are now eligible for a rebate, up from $55,000.
P.E.I. has a rebate of $5,000-$2,500 for purchases of both new and used battery EVs and plug-in hybrids.
There are also changes in the incentive related to EV chargers. It now comes with a $750 credit that can be used toward the purchase and installation of the owner’s preferred charger or charging expenses for those unable to install a charger (such as those living in an apartment). Previously, a free standard charger was shipped to the vehicle owner.
In a media release, the P.E.I. government indicated that in 2019 slightly more than 100 EVs were registered in the province, but that has grown to over 700. That, says the Province, indicates residents have shown great interest in EVs with the help of the incentive.
For vehicles bought in P.E.I. from a registered dealership, the incentive will continue to be given at point of sale to be taken off the purchase price. For vehicles purchased off-Island, consumers can apply for the incentive when they register their vehicle at an Access P.E.I. location.
Many EVs are also eligible for an additional rebate through the Government of Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicles (iZEV) Program.
All EV Canada has dealerships in Halifax and Moncton, and Bernardin said the company has many clients in P.E.I. and has a “humongous” inventory of EVs.
“Opening this up does make it easier for residents (outside of P.E.I.) to purchase an EV and receive the incentive,” said Bernardin. “We can sell them a car, get it delivered to P.E.I. and it’s fully eligible for the incentive.”
