Transport Canada Looking to Extend Federal Rebate to Used Electric Vehicles

In a move aimed at making the program more relevant to low or middle-income consumers, Transport Canada is looking at ways to include used vehicles in a federal rebate for electric vehicles, the Financial Post is reporting.

An analysis by Clean Energy Canada has shown that more than $100 million of the almost $300 million in subsidies issued so far have gone to Tesla drivers.

Government agreements also show that Tesla has been reimbursed around $102 million of the roughly $296 million sent to individual dealerships selling electric vehicles from at least 15 different automakers. Furthermore, purchases of the Tesla Model 3 represent only around 25% of the total program claims.

“Clean Energy Canada says to better reach Canadians who have less money, the rebates should include used vehicles, and Ottawa should consider introducing an income cap to weed out those who don’t need financial support to buy an electric car.”

However, experts believe the program’s affordability is going to become an issue as Ottawa has to decide how much money it’s willing to spend to reach its goal to get 10% of all light-duty cars being electric by 2025.