"There are stupid moves, and then there are very stupid moves. The one about to be made by Ontario belongs in the second category".
That’s how Jerry Chenkin, Executive Vice President of Honda Canada, describes the recent decision by the Dalton McGuinty administration to go forward with a program encouraging consumers to purchase electric vehicles.
According to Honda executives, it’s not only an unhealthy interference by the government but also an obvious conflict of interest, as it aims to support primarily General Motors, which is now partly owned by the Ontario government.
"We haven’t even been informed that Ontario would come up with such a program. Worst part is, they did it directly from a GM showroom. They just don’t understand the reality of their own province," said Mr. Chenkin, fuming.
Based on the information made public, existing hybrids won’t be eligible to incentives. Only plug-in hybrids and fully-electric cars will.
Actually, not all electric cars will qualify. Since they can’t drive on the highway, low-speed vehicles (LSV) such as the Zenn or Nemo are not included.
"Clearly, this move is about politics first. It’s easy to just go out there and announce a program like this when you know that no current vehicles meet the standards of said program. Curiously, the first one that likely will is the Chevrolet Volt, produced by GM. For Honda, which could be the largest automaker in Canada in 2009 based on production volumes, this is a flagrant lack of respect. We have scheduled a meeting with Mr. McGuinty to explain our point of view," added Jerry Chenkin.
Because of the particular nature of Honda’s hybrid system, a plug-in device is incompatible with this type of vehicle. Therefore, if the Japanese manufacturer wants to be considered, it would have to develop and sell a fully-electric model.
"We don’t want financial help from the government. We understood, but didn’t agree with their decision to support GM and Chrysler. That being said, we refuse to let the government interfere like that and tell us what vehicles to produce and how. It’s up to automakers to meet the demands of consumers and, at Honda, we firmly intend to meet those demands without some form of competition by the governments," insisted the Vice President.
It’s not the first time that Honda cries foul over the State’s seemingly biased attitude. Remember the EcoAuto program? The benchmark for fuel consumption had been set just 0.1L/100 km under the Honda Fit’s numbers. As a result, the company was forced to give incentives of its own to avoid losing too many sales.
That’s how Jerry Chenkin, Executive Vice President of Honda Canada, describes the recent decision by the Dalton McGuinty administration to go forward with a program encouraging consumers to purchase electric vehicles.
According to Honda executives, it’s not only an unhealthy interference by the government but also an obvious conflict of interest, as it aims to support primarily General Motors, which is now partly owned by the Ontario government.
"We haven’t even been informed that Ontario would come up with such a program. Worst part is, they did it directly from a GM showroom. They just don’t understand the reality of their own province," said Mr. Chenkin, fuming.
Based on the information made public, existing hybrids won’t be eligible to incentives. Only plug-in hybrids and fully-electric cars will.
Actually, not all electric cars will qualify. Since they can’t drive on the highway, low-speed vehicles (LSV) such as the Zenn or Nemo are not included.
"Clearly, this move is about politics first. It’s easy to just go out there and announce a program like this when you know that no current vehicles meet the standards of said program. Curiously, the first one that likely will is the Chevrolet Volt, produced by GM. For Honda, which could be the largest automaker in Canada in 2009 based on production volumes, this is a flagrant lack of respect. We have scheduled a meeting with Mr. McGuinty to explain our point of view," added Jerry Chenkin.
Because of the particular nature of Honda’s hybrid system, a plug-in device is incompatible with this type of vehicle. Therefore, if the Japanese manufacturer wants to be considered, it would have to develop and sell a fully-electric model.
"We don’t want financial help from the government. We understood, but didn’t agree with their decision to support GM and Chrysler. That being said, we refuse to let the government interfere like that and tell us what vehicles to produce and how. It’s up to automakers to meet the demands of consumers and, at Honda, we firmly intend to meet those demands without some form of competition by the governments," insisted the Vice President.
It’s not the first time that Honda cries foul over the State’s seemingly biased attitude. Remember the EcoAuto program? The benchmark for fuel consumption had been set just 0.1L/100 km under the Honda Fit’s numbers. As a result, the company was forced to give incentives of its own to avoid losing too many sales.