The federal government has prohibited the cheapest electric vehicle in Canada in Canada, manufactured in China, imposing customs duties of 100 %. Defenders of this mode of transport therefore make pressure so that car manufacturers can more easily import cheaper vehicles from Europe.
“Currently, there is a blockage, as these vehicles cannot enter for security reasons,” said Daniel Breton, president and chief-director of electric mobility canada.
He puts pressure for Ottawa to consider that electric vehicles deemed security by European regulation organizations do not need to be receded or modified according to Canadian standards.
This potentially expensive process can be an obstacle to the introduction of more compact and more affordable electric vehicles on the Canadian market, even if demand could be the main obstacle.
“Currently, Transport Canada says:” Well, we have to change the bumpers, the headlights and all this for security reasons “, which, in my opinion, is pure stupidity,” ruled Mr. Breton.
“If the car is efficient enough to circulate on European roads, where you can drive much faster than here, do not come and tell me that it is not safe enough to be driven in Canada,” he added.
Attempts to lower barriers to access to cheaper vehicles occur while sales of electric vehicles have been disrupted by the brutal end of government discount programs, while customs duties and American measures aimed at putting an end to help and obligations in electric vehicles destabilize the market more.
More complicated than it seems
According to Mr. Breton, authorizing a freer circulation of vehicles from Europe would be well within the framework of an effort aimed at strengthening and diversifying commercial ties with the region, as Prime Minister Mark Carney hopes. Transport Canada says, however, that it is not so simple.
“The certification requirements of other jurisdictions may not be sufficient to meet the safety needs of Canadian road users due to the particular road environment of Canada,” said spokesman Hicham Ayoun in an email.
He added that Canadian test standards are better suited to road infrastructure, speed limits and larger vehicles found on Canadian roads.
“Some European requirements for collision tests are not as strict as that of the Canadian regime due to driving environmental differences,” he said.
Mr. Breton said that the idea that European tests would be deficient was ridiculous, but the question of demand for these vehicles also arises.
As Transports Canada pointed out, Canadians enjoy big cars and large trucks. So much so that a few years ago, the International Energy Agency found that Canadian vehicles were the biggest and second heavier in the world, which attributed to them the worst fuel consumption rating in the world.
Car manufacturers know this and could hesitate to market smaller cars, says Sam Fiorani, vice-president of global forecasts on vehicles at Autoforecast Solutions.
“European electric vehicles are suitable for the European market, and these models do not adapt very well to the United States and Canada,” he added. Small cars that Canadians appreciate are marginal; They are few. »»
Even if the potential market is not much larger than the cars themselves, Mr. Breton says that there is still a demand, ranging from urban drivers to households wishing to equip their second car with an electric vehicle.
He cited the electric smart that his wife led, which is no longer available in Canada.
“If her vehicle was scrapped today, she would find nothing else on the market, with the exception of the Fiat 500E. But that’s it. It is not a choice, ”he said.
Few models available
The Fiat is the cheapest electric vehicle available in Canada, with a basic price of $ 42,290 (although the manufacturer currently offers more than $ 4,000 in discounts) for an announced autonomy of 227 kilometers. The Nissan Leaf is its nearest competitor, with a starting sale of $ 44,596 for a range of 240 kilometers.
But many other compact models are not available here.
Volkswagen sells its ID.4 in Canada, but not the ID.3, which can be sold about 20 % cheaper. Nissan does not sell its more affordable Micra model either, while other European brands offering compact electric vehicles, such as Citroën, Opel and Peugeot, do not sell in Canada at all.
Sales of the compact versions available are not high. Stellantis sold 1275 copies of his Fiat 500E last year, against more than 62,000 for his RAM brand and more than 40,000 for Jeep.
But the market also needs choice to develop and reduce barriers to entry, judges Mr. Breton.
The idea of importing cheaper electric vehicles from Europe seems to benefit from support, according to a survey published last month by Clean Energy Canada.
Collected from 2585 Canadians, the results showed that 70 % of them were favorable to the entry into Canada of electric vehicles approved in Europe. Only 10 % are against it, and the other undecided.
The survey also showed that a majority argued the other important lever available to the federal government to make electric vehicles cheaper, namely the reduction or abolition of customs duties on Chinese electric vehicles.
Almost 53 % of those questioned were favorable to the adoption of the European model, which imposed customs duties of up to 35 % on Chinese vehicles. This approach competes protection of national industries and improvement of financial accessibility.
Breton also stressed that he would like a more nuanced approach to China than 100 % customs duties imposed by Canada, in order to better find this balance and facilitate transition to zero emission vehicles.
“We want to make sure that Canadians have access to affordable electric cars,” he said.
