Canada Offering EV Rebate Via Cash-For-Clunkers Program

In the summer of 2009, America’s official Cash for Clunkers program got underway, with the hopes of propping up a floundering auto industry and getting old, polluting cars off the road. The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) has launched it’s own Cash-For-Clunkers program, but with the $3,250 rebates only good towards the purchase of a plug-in car, reports Autos.ca.

British Columbia actually ended up a test case for what happens when local governments remove incentives for buying plug-in cars. The results made it clear that incentives for plug-in car drivers really do make a difference, which encouraged BC to develop a new Scrap-It program targeting cars age 15 years or older. Drivers who turn in their old cars to be recycled will receive a $3,250 rebate towards the purchase of an electric car or Chevy Volt/Cadillac ELR, but interestingly enough, no other plug–in hybrid or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Considering Vancouver recently scrapped about $90 million worth of hydrogen buses, it seems like maybe Canada has gotten its fill of fuel cells.

The $3,000 rebate (plus $250 from car dealers) is more than the book value of many pre-200 vehicles. That’s not the only incentive BC has to offer plug-in car buyers though, as the provincial government is expected to re-introduce an up-to $5,000 rebate for the purchase of a plug-in car, though it’s unclear whether the $2,500 rebate for plug-in hybrids will also make a comeback. For those willing to go pure electric though, the rebates could add up to more than $8,000 off the MSRP of an electric car, though other parts of the land of hockey and maple syrup can get up to $11,000 in incentives.

That’s Canadian dollars, I should note, and the $8,000 BC incentive works out to about $6,400 in America. U.S. citizens benefit from a $7,500 tax rebate, plus state incentives like Georgia’s $5,000 rebate that can reduce the price of some EVs like the Mitsubishi i-MiEV by more than half. Considering what a difference rebates make to plug-in car sales though, and that this program can take some real inefficient cars off the road, this program is a win-win for environmentalists.