Unless policies or technologies change, the ownership cost of electric vehicles (EVs) needs to decrease by 31 per cent if Canada to wants to reach its sales target of 60 per cent EVs by 2030, according to a new report released Thursday by Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux.
Last December, the federal government unveiled its Electric Vehicle Availability Standard that outlined zero-emission vehicle sales targets for automakers. The standard requires all new light-duty sales in Canada to be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035. There are also interim targets of at least 20 per cent of all sales being EVs by 2026 and 60 per cent by 2030.
Those federal government targets come as growth forecasts for auto companies have plateaued and concerns about charging infrastructure persist. The price of EVs has also pushed the cars out of reach for many consumers. According to the Canadian Black Book, the average cost of an EV was $73,000 in 2023.
It is worse than that. In North America, you have to assume the occupants are not wearing seatbelts. That means bigger, less directional airbags for example. Less safe if you are wearing a belt. Safer if you are not. In Europe by contrast, you can design with the assumption that safety belts are being used.
The “safer” European vehicles “do not meet North American safety standards”.
I know little about Chinese automotive standards but I assume they are looser. That said, simply not having anchors for car seats is enough “not to meet safety standards”. Those are easy to add. These things do not always mean what you think they do.