CADA continues pressure on ZEV mandate
June 26, 2023
The federal government has laid down an aggressive timeline aimed at spurring widespread adoption of zero-emission vehicles in the next decade, reaching a stated mandate of 100% ZEV sales by 2035.
While CADA, and the manufacturers support the move to electrification, the math just doesn’t add up and is at odds with the reality across Canada.
That’s the message CADA, along with fellow auto industry association groups made to the media in a press conference in the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa, and in subsequent media interviews. “As we clearly mapped out in our ZEV timeline, the targets the government is setting in terms of EV sales, just aren’t realistic at the current pace of actual EV purchases and public acceptance, let alone the woeful lack of a public infrastructure to charge these vehicles,” said Huw Williams, CADA’s Director of Public Affairs.
At the press event, Williams led off with a strong call to action: “We are here, quite frankly, to announce that Canada needs urgent action to achieve its zero-emissions goals,” said Williams. “Urgent action has to come in (the form) of charging infrastructure.”
You can watch a video of that press conference here.
Williams then introduced representatives from the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (CVMA), and the Global Automakers of Canada (GAC) who echoed CADA’s concerns.
During his remarks, Brian Kingston, President and CEO of CVMA, referenced a new ZEV timeline the three auto groups created as part of the Road to 2035 public awareness campaign.
Kingston said the timeline clearly shows the charging infrastructure needed to support widespread ZEV adoption is already way behind schedule. “The timeline shows that Canada is not on track to provide the necessary infrastructure to support widespread ZEV adoption,” said Kingston during the conference. In a statement, he added that what is needed is a “comprehensive, long-term plan.”
In a joint news release, CADA President and CEO Tim Reuss highlighted other concerns Canadians have about EVs, including high costs of acquiring them, and using them and charging them in a way that suits their lifestyles. “For charging, that means being able to do so where they live, work, and play and not having to add 30-45 minutes to their daily commute by having to rely on public charging alone,” said Reuss.
In terms of the ZEV timeline, the groups mapped out the EV sales targets set by the government against the corresponding levels of chargers needed to support that many ZEVs on the road.
As the timeline illustrates, with an estimated 12.4 million EVs on Canadian roads by 2035, 442,000 public chargers will be needed — a number that is not achievable at the current slow rates of building new charging infrastructure.
2021:
ZEV sales: 5.6%
ZEV fleet: 248,581
Public chargers estimated: 19,995
2026:
ZEV sales: 20%
ZEV fleet: 1.4 million (463% growth from 2021)
Public chargers estimated: 52,000
2030:
ZEV sales: 60%
ZEV fleet: 4.6 million (229% growth from 2026)
Public chargers estimated: 195,000
2035:
ZEV sales: 100%
ZEV fleet: 12.4 million (170% growth from 2030)
Public chargers estimated: 442,000
In an interview with CADA Newsline, Williams repeated CADA’s contention that the move to electrified mobility can’t be achieved without much broader support. “This is not a car dealer transition, this is not a car manufacturer transition. This is not even a consumer transition. This is an everyone in society transition. The government can set their timelines, but then they have to show leadership to make sure all the elements needed to make these sales increases actually happen. They can’t just wave a magic wand and all of a sudden EVs appear everywhere.”