The Manitoba government has unveiled its spring budget, and it includes an initiative aimed at making electric vehicles (EVs) more accessible. The province is introducing an EV rebate that offers up to $4,000 on new EV and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) purchases, and $2,500 for pre-owned EVs.
In unveiling the budget on Tuesday, Finance Minister Adrien Sala highlighted the challenge many Manitobans face with the high upfront cost of EVs, describing the “sticker shock” as a barrier to making the environmentally friendly switch. To combat this, the rebate applies to new and used EVs and PHEVs priced under $70,000 and less than four years old.
The program pairs with the federal Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) Program, potentially reducing the cost of a new EV by up to $9,000 when the two programs are combined.
The rebate program is also retroactively effective from August 1, 2023, which might create a problem for new Tesla owners.
According to the provincial government, the rebate only applies to EVs and PHEVs purchased through a “Manitoba dealership”. The good news is Tesla recently opened a new Sales, Service, and Delivery Center in Winnipeg in late December, 2023, however whether Tesla purchases will qualify is unknown.
The potential issues with Tesla purchases being eligible for the Manitoba rebate are two-fold. The first is whether Tesla is considered a “Manitoba dealership,” and if they are considered as such, what the effective date of that classification is.
The second is the fact that Tesla is not yet delivering new cars from the Winnipeg location, but hopes to do so soon. The question then becomes, if Tesla is a Manitoba dealership, can deliveries from outside of the province from before the Winnipeg location opened still qualify for the retroactive rebate?
We have reached out to the government for clarification and will update this article when we receive a response.
UPDATE Apr 4 3:00pm PT: We heard back from the Manitoba government, and essentially, they didn’t answer our questions, only saying more information would be available when the program becomes available later this year.
Here’s the full response:
“The Electric Vehicle Incentive Program is a new program announced as part of Budget 2024, and will be available later this year. For the most current information on the rebate please access https://manitoba.ca/lowercosts/evincentives/…“
