Automakers ‘cautiously optimistic’ after meeting Carney over EV mandates

Automakers met with Prime Minister Mark Carney, and discussed challenges with current electric vehicle mandates given the added challenges of the trade war and tariffs.

The head of an organization representing automakers said he’s “cautiously optimistic” after meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney to urge him to repeal the electric vehicle sales mandate.

Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association CEO Brian Kingston joined the CEOs of Ford Canada, Stellantis Canada and GM Canada in a meeting with the prime minister on Wednesday in Ottawa.

Along with discussing the impact of U.S. tariffs — the primary focus of the meeting — the automakers told Carney there’s no way the industry can meet the targets set out in the EV mandate.

The industry has long argued the mandate is unnecessary since Canada already has other policies to meet its emissions-reduction targets.

“Why would you put an EV mandate on top of your existing (greenhouse gas) regulations? It makes absolutely no sense,” Kingston told The Canadian Press.

“Now, what’s changed since it was designed and came into force is that we’ve had this collapse in EV sales.”

The EV sales mandate requires that 20 per cent of all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada next year be zero-emission. The target rises annually to 100 per cent by 2035.

The most recent data from Statistics Canada shows EVs accounted for just 7.53 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Canada in April. EV sales peaked at 18.29 per cent in December, the last month before funding ran out of the popular Zero-Emission Vehicles rebate program.