The Government of Canada’s iZEV rebate program continues to be popular among Canadian electric vehicle (EV) buyers, but a change may soon be made to make it even more popular.
According to data from Transport Canada, the program has handed out around $296 million in rebates since its inception in May 2019. Eligible buyers can receive either $2,500 or $5,000 off the purchase of a new qualifying zero-emissions vehicle.
To make the incentive more equitable to those who might not be able to afford a new car, Transport Canada is investigating ways to include used EVs in the program. While no comments were made on how much of a rebate would be available for used EVs, it will likely be less than the current amounts available for new purchases.
Rebates on used EVs is something that is already done at the provincial level, like the recently announced Electrify Nova Scotia Rebate Program which offers a $2,000 rebate on used purchases.
Of the $296 million in funds already dispersed by the iZEV program, Tesla buyers claimed about $102 million. That works out to a little over 34% of the total funds, but additional figures from Transport Canada says the Model 3, the only Tesla vehicle eligible for the rebate, accounted for 25% of the total program claims.
The next highest percentage of claims were made by Hyundai ($50M) and Chevrolet ($40M).
Also Read: Canadians buy more than 74,000 zero-emission vehicles through iZEV rebate program
This is up slightly from the previous figures released in November 2020 which showed Tesla buyers had claimed 32% of the program’s funds in the first 18 months.
Source: Financial Post
