British Columbia pauses EV rebate programme
The ‘Go Electric Passenger Vehicle Rebate Program’ was officially paused on May 15, 2025, to give the provincial government time to review the future of the rebate programme. Currently, the programme is set to provide financial incentives for the purchase of an EV or hybrid based on annual income. Residents earning up to 80,000 CAD can collect up to $4,000 for BEVs and long-range hybrid cars, while shorter-range hybrid cars, with an electric range under 85 kilometres, garner up to $2,000.
For residents earning more than $80,000, but less than $100,000, qualified for partial rebates, earning between $500 and $2,000, while individuals earning more than $100,000 per year were not eligible for incentives. The measures also considered the vehicle’s size and price, with the requirement that a car must have an MSRP of $50,000 or less, while a larger vehicle could cost up to $70,000.
British Columbia’s rebate programme was paused yesterday, the 15th of May, but allowed applicants to submit their subsidy applications, either obtaining an online pre-approval by 6 p.m., or leasing an eligible vehicle by 11:59 p.m. The sales tax exemption for used ZEVs, which was to run until 2027, was also recently terminated early. Subsidies for Tesla were also recently removed, but that is more closely related to political backgrounds than economic ones.
“During this time of economic instability, the province is reviewing programs to ensure that they best meet the needs of people in B.C.,” stated the B.C. government. “The province is committed to working with automakers and dealers to determine the best ways to continue supporting ZEV adoption in B.C.”
David Adams, president and CEO of Global Automakers of Canada has also responded to the new policy, clearly not approving of the fund cutting: “British Columbia’s ZEV mandate has some of the most aggressive targets anywhere in the world and the government has now made it even more difficult for automakers to meet those targets. We need the province to suspend its current mandate, and work with automakers to provide B.C. consumers and automakers relief in this challenging affordability environment, while still working towards our shared climate goals.”
The Canadian province states that it has spent more than $650 million on electric vehicle incentives, which helped grow from 5,000 zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) on the road in 2016 to nearly 197,000 ZEV currently driving in British Columbia. Charging infrastructure grew from 781 stations in 2016 to over 7,027 charging stations.
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