The NDP government has introduced a new mandate in British Columbia states that by 2040 all sales of new cars in the province will be electric. This Zero Emission Vehicle mandate (ZEV) has set targets for car dealers for medium and long-run. In seven years, the total sales of new cars should be no less than 10% electric cars. By 2030, the electric car sales should be no less than 30% of total sales. The final target will be reach sales of electric cars as 100% of all the sales of new cars in the province by 2040. Currently, the sales of electric cars amount to less than 5% of the total sales of new cars in the province.

The Tyee’s wrote an article talking about the current policies and what it takes to incentivise the population to change from gas-powered cars to electric cars. Professor Sumeet Gulati commented in the article that increasing the infrastructure to charge the cars, making it accessible and affordable, can allow for the middle class population to use electric cars as their main vehicle. He also mentioned that rebates should be linked to individual incomes, so we subsidize the poor instead of the rich.

Read the full article about BC’s policies to increase the electric cars sales here. Additionally, you can read more about Dr. Gulati and his research interests here.