Quebec's Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs has announced it is suspending the Go Green (Roulez vert) program, which offers a rebate on the purchase of an electric vehicle.
Quebec had previously announced a reduction of the rebates applicable in Quebec, to take effect on January 1, 2025. At that point the maximum discount of $7,000 drops to $4,000. For a plug-in hybrid vehicle with a battery of more than 15 kWh, the reduction is from $5,000 to $2,000. For the same type of model, but with a battery of less than 15 kWh, the incentive drops from $2,500 to $1,000.
Yesterday's announcement means that there will be no discounts available at all, as of February 1, 2025. And in a nutshell, the reason is that the program has been a victim of its own success. With reductions in EV discounts announced and on the way, it seems buyers jumped on the program in the last part of 2024, emptying the program of funds.
A temporary suspension
The Ministry says that the measure is temporary. Some say it could be until the next spring budget, but it could also be longer.
The drop in rebates announced for January 1 has prompted many consumers to act more quickly to purchase an electric vehicle. As of September 30, 2024, there were 335,000 electric vehicles on the road in Quebec, a third of all models registered in Canada.
It was expected that EV sales in Quebec would be impacted by the discount reduction starting January 1, 2025. The suspension of the discount will certainly cut into sales even further.
It should be noted that consumers will still be able to count on the federal government's $5,000 rebate on eligible vehicles.
Some Quebec dealerships carrying inventories of EVs will now have to try to sell them without the help of the program they were counting on. We might see consumers offered “backdoor” discounts.
Time running out
For Quebec EV buyers to take advantage of the $7,000 discount currently available via the Go Green program, the vehicle purchased must be registered before the program by December 31, 2024. To be eligible for the reduced $4,000 discount available after January 1, the vehicle must be plated by February 1, 2025.