The Legault government wants to force the hand of car manufacturers by quadrupling the penalties provided for to force them to improve the supply of electric vehicles on the market with a view to the end, from 2035, of the sale of gasoline cars.
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Without fanfare, Quebec published a draft regulation on January 26 which, once adopted, will quadruple the penalties for vehicle manufacturers who do not sell enough electric, hydrogen or low-emission vehicles.
Since 2018, manufacturers have been subject to the ZEV (zero emission vehicle) standard, a system that allows credits to be accumulated for each green vehicle sold.
According to this principle inspired by California, a builder who does not reach the target must pay $5,000 per missing credit.
But now, since the implementation of this standard in Quebec, the government has not received a single penny, since all the manufacturers have easily succeeded in complying with it, without increasing or diversifying the supply of clean vehicles.
Larger constraints
At least, not enough for the taste of the Minister of the Environment, Benoit Charette, who deplores the long delays faced by consumers to obtain an electric vehicle. Indeed, it is not uncommon for the wait to reach six months or a year, observes the minister.
“It is a standard which, over the years, has not become sufficiently binding,” he summed up in an interview with our Parliamentary Office.
He therefore wishes to “force the note” so that car manufacturers improve their offer of clean vehicles.
With the proposed changes, the penalty for each missing credit would increase in 2025 to $20,000. Each zero-emission vehicle sold would then give the right to a single credit, instead of four as is currently the case.
The minimum number of credits to be obtained is also expected to increase over the years.
Manufacturers will therefore have an interest in selling more green vehicles to Quebec consumers.
“This is a reinforcement that is significant and will certainly increase the supply of electric vehicles,” believes the minister.
polluting sector
According to him, this is a necessary step to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and end the sale of gasoline vehicles from 2035.
“Forty-five percent of our greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation,” he said. Light vehicles alone account for half of the emissions in this sector.
VZE norms (zero emission vehicles)
Proposed changes
- Fully electric vehicle
- Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle
4 creditsmaximum per vehicle- 1 credit maximum per vehicle
- Plug-in hybrid vehicle
- Hydrogen combustion engine vehicle
1.3 creditmaximum per vehicle- 0.5 credit maximum per vehicle
Penalty for each missing credit:
5000 $ 20 000 $