Review of EV Availability Standard an opportunity to fix a growing problem: Canada’s uncompetitive EV market - Clean Energy Canada

The article discusses Clean Energy Canada’s response to the Canadian government’s decision to delay and review the Electric Vehicle (EV) Availability Standard, highlighting Canada’s uncompetitive EV market and affordability challenges. Joanna Kyriazis, policy and strategy director at Clean Energy Canada, emphasizes that Canada is missing out on many lower-priced EV models available internationally, which could save consumers money and reduce environmental impact. The delay in implementing the standard offers an opportunity to better align the policy with its core objective: increasing consumer choice and making EVs more accessible, particularly affordable models under $40,000. Kyriazis suggests that automakers could be incentivized through credits for selling lower-priced EVs or offering zero-interest financing, which would help address affordability issues. The article also points to broader challenges facing the North American EV market, including trade tensions and regulatory misalignment, particularly between the U.S. and other global markets. To improve Canada’s EV competitiveness, the article recommends exploring additional measures such as adopting European safety standards to