The Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA), Car Care Canada and representatives from the automotive aftermarket industry consider that the environmental initiatives in the latest Federal Budget are a step in the right direction. However, they do not address a large enough segment of the vehicle fleet in Canada.
According to the AIA, the decision to spend $36 million in a program to retire older vehicles (12+ years old) sounds impressive, but if the example of an incentive of $1,000 per vehicle retired is used, that's only 36,000 cars off the road -- cars which likely would have been retired anyway.
Consequently, the retirement of older vehicles does not represent a big savings in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nor does the $2,000 purchase incentive for high-efficiency vehicles combined with the $4,000 levy on low-efficiency vehicles, given that these represent only 5% of all vehicles being sold today. These measures do not factor in solutions for the other 16 million vehicles on the road. For the AIA, it's a first step in the right direction but it won't come close to solving the problem altogether. Indeed, all new vehicles still require regular maintenance to keep their emissions low.
According to the AIA, the decision to spend $36 million in a program to retire older vehicles (12+ years old) sounds impressive, but if the example of an incentive of $1,000 per vehicle retired is used, that's only 36,000 cars off the road -- cars which likely would have been retired anyway.
Consequently, the retirement of older vehicles does not represent a big savings in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nor does the $2,000 purchase incentive for high-efficiency vehicles combined with the $4,000 levy on low-efficiency vehicles, given that these represent only 5% of all vehicles being sold today. These measures do not factor in solutions for the other 16 million vehicles on the road. For the AIA, it's a first step in the right direction but it won't come close to solving the problem altogether. Indeed, all new vehicles still require regular maintenance to keep their emissions low.