There’s lots of news to digest, but a Zero Emission Vehicle strategy will have long-lasting impact
The news can seem overwhelming sometimes.
It’s hard to know if there is in fact more “news” than ever these days, or if we just have access to and demand more of it. Either way, the torrent of information and issues is never ending, in business and in life.
Your correspondent recently presented to an industry gathering to discuss, among other things, the many political and policy issues facing the industry at the moment. The list was a long one. In included:
NAFTA; fuel economy rules; ever-shifting small business tax rules; new federal vehicle recall legislation; legal marijuana; and autonomous vehicle regulations.
In “normal” times, whatever those are, either one of these could have been considered a headline issue for the automotive industry in Canada. But they’re all happening at once, and none of them is the biggest potential challenge facing us in 2018.
For this year, on top of all these other things, we will be seeing a new national strategy on Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) from the federal Minister of Transport Marc Garneau.
Happily for dealers, CADA has a very solid working relationship with Minister Garneau and his team that was forged from 2016 until earlier this year throughout the process on Bill S-2, the recall bill listed above.
We have been in regular contact with his team as they formulate a new federal ZEV strategy to be announced later this year. The 2018 strategy announcement was telegraphed last year, since which time much consultation has taken place between Transport Canada and the many stakeholder groups that will be impacted by the new national approach to encouraging greater ZEV proliferation.
All groups invited to take part in this process agree on some key issues. There is near-universal support for federal government involvement in expanding charging infrastructure for plug-in vehicles, since the current extreme lack of plug-ins hinders consumers’ ability to get very far with today’s battery-powered cars.
Today’s plug-ins and hybrids can easily tackle upwards of 90 per cent of today’s car rides, but consumers don’t know that to a large degree.
Government cash for expanding the charging network would help alleviate the chicken-and-egg problem we have today: few people buy ZEVs because there aren’t any chargers; there aren’t any chargers because few people buy ZEVs.
Some provinces have recognized this problem and are making their own investments in infrastructure, but a national approach is needed. Expect cash for charging stations to be a key plank of the federal strategy.
There has also been agreement between industry and environmental groups on the need to help educate the public on ZEVs and their potential role in tomorrow’s national fleet.
Right now, the awareness level among members of the public on the features offered by today’s ZEVs is very low.
For instance, “range anxiety” is becoming a thing of the past as alternative propulsion vehicles have extended their possible range in recent years to cover all but long road trips.
The reality is that the vast majority of single trips taken by Canadian vehicles is within a pretty tight radius of the home. Today’s plug-ins and hybrids can easily tackle upwards of 90 per cent of today’s car rides, but consumers don’t know that to a large degree.
A national ZEV strategy would do well to help educate the public that a ZEV could be a realistic option for a greater share of the market than today is the case.
Where industry participants and environmental groups diverged was on the question of the so-called ZEV mandate — a ZEV sales floor that would force consumers to buy a certain mix of vehicles.
The 2018 model year is the first under which the Quebec version of this ill-advised approach will be in effect in that province, despite the loud protests from dealers and manufacturers in the province for many years.
Precisely how the government plans to multiply ZEV demand more than four-fold overnight (from less than 1 per cent to this year’s target of 3.5 per cent) remains unclear, even a half year after 2018s started hitting dealership lots.
But it seems likely that effectively forcing consumers in the province to buy a mix of cars they would not otherwise demand will soon run up against the reality of a powerful market force in Quebec.
Translating that approach nationally would meet the same fate to an even greater degree since the rest of the country is well behind La Belle Province in current ZEV demand.
So, a busy year is before us on the policy front in automotive industry circles. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
