Canada extends electric vehicle rebate, but few cars available for B.C. buyers

As a part of its 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, Ottawa has earmarked another $1.7 billion to incentivize the sale of zero-emission vehicles.

Canada’s federal government announced it would extend an incentive plan for electric vehicles earlier this week, but for many would-be buyers, actually getting their hands on an EV remains nearly impossible.

As a part of its 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, Ottawa has earmarked another $1.7 billion to incentivize the sale of zero-emission vehicles, topping up the federal program that rebates up to $5,000 for cars valued at under $45,000.

That’s cold comfort to Greg Morris in Penticton, B.C., who has been told he’ll have to wait about a year before a manufacturer can actually get him one.

“It’s nice they are giving us some increased incentives to buy electric vehicles — the unfortunate part is the lack of availability,” he told Global News.

“There’s virtually no new ones available, more or less, and the used car market is such that even used electric vehicles are getting hard to find as well. So it’s nice but I’m not sure how many people are going to be able to take advantage of it.”

Morris is among thousands of British Columbians seeking to purchase an electric vehicle.

In fact, he’s so motivated he’s put deposits on two different cars, and said he’ll buy the first one that’s actually available.

Right now, he’s about 2,700th in line for a Hyundai IONIQ 5, and has put a second deposit on a Kia EV6.