Ontario makes it easier to buy an electric vehicle

Got your eye on a Tesla? If you live in Ontario, that prohibitive pricetag just got a little easier to swallow.

On January 1, Ontario updated its Electric Vehicle Incentive Program. It’s a move the province reminded in a press release this week will assist in the the provinces Climate Change Action Plan. Updates to the program will help in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also making it more realistic to have an electric vehicle (EV) in the driveway of every Ontarian’s home on top of the already 9,000 that are currently registered in the province.

“Transportation emissions are the single-largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in the province. That’s why we are moving forward on a commitment to make it easier for Ontarians to purchase and drive an electric vehicle. Through our Climate Change Action Plan, we’re supporting electric vehicle initiatives, incentives, research and development,” says Glen R. Murray, Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Ontario.

The Electric Vehicle Incentive Program looks to make EVs more affordable, encourage the production of more spacious and powerful EVs, and assure there is a wider range of support available for EVs. By the year 2018, Ontario will require that all new workplaces, townhouses, and homes be made with EV chargers.

Recent updates have made the following changes:

• Incentives when purchasing an EV are no longer limited to 30% of the MSRP.

• eliminated a cap of $3000 in incentives that were previously on EVs which were fully battery powered between the price range of $75,000 – $150,000 which produced less environmental impact than that of lower priced hybrids.

• EVs with a $150,000+ MSRP will continue to receive no incentives.

• Incentives can only be received when purchasing an EV from an automaker which is partnered with Ontario’s Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Advancement Partnership (which aims to have at least 5% of passenger vehicles sold/leased by the year 2020 be electric or hydrogen powered).

Ontario will be looking at their Electric Vehicle Incentive Program again in the fall of this year to ensure that everything is going according to plan and possibly make new amendments.

“Providing better incentives for electric vehicles will help consumers and businesses make the transition to more sustainable vehicles, and keep Ontario at the forefront of the clean, green economy,” says Ontario Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca.

Of course, Ontario isn’t the only place that is receiving incentives for the purchase of EVs. Tesla, in fact, has a page on its website that shows the possible incentives for the State/Province in which you live. Currently there are only two provinces, Quebec and Ontario, which offer such incentives according to Tesla’s website but there are 14 states which offer special incentives on top of a $7500 federal income tax credit which applies to every state.

In 2016, Tesla sold approximately 76,250 vehicles and was ranked as Forbes #1 most innovative companies of 2016. But Tesla is going to have some competition walking into 2017, as the Chevrolet Bolt has clenched the #1 spot as per rankingsandreviews.com.

European Automobile Manufacturers Association has a list of all the incentives which apply to European Countries which can be found here.