Anglais
Zero-emission rules mean fewer electric car choices for most Canadians: Don Pittis
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Canadians trying to buy the electric vehicle of their choice in many parts of the country are finding it almost impossible — and a provincial strategy intended to get more green cars onto dealers’ lots may actually make the problem worse.
The strategy — called a zero-emission vehicle standard, or « ZEV mandate » — has already been imposed in Quebec.
There are now widespread rumours that British Columbia could announce a similar scheme within days as part of a promise to help balance out the greenhouse gas deficit produced by the province’s planned $40-billion liquefied natural gas plant in Kitimat.
That sucking sound
Unless the federal government moves ahead with a promised national ZEV mandate of its own quickly — something critics think is unlikely — green car advocates fear the provincial schemes will merely suck electric vehicles out of other parts of the Canadian market in order to beef up sales in B.C. and Quebec — without increasing the total national supply.
That doesn’t mean ZEV mandates aren’t potent policy tools within the jurisdictions that impose them, says Dan Woynillowicz, policy director with Clean Energy Canada, a think-tank at Simon Fraser University.
« California has been the pioneer with a zero-emission vehicle mandate, » said Woynillowicz. « It’s been very successful, and as a result more than a dozen other states, plus Quebec here in Canada, have adopted similar policies. »
California has been a leader in the ZEV market, and you can find electric cars available there that are never even seen in Canada. (Robert Galbraith/Reuters)
Meant to influence the market without distorting it too much, ZEV rules differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. But in principle, ZEV standards have a single intent.
« The standard seeks to spur the supply of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) and low-emission vehicles (LEVs) to afford … consumers access to greater numbers and a broader range of plug-in motor vehicles, which are the cleanest and the most technically advanced on the market, » reads a Quebec government website.
Despite a handy explanatory leaflet, ordinary car-buyers may find the complexities of the rules heavy.
But in essence, ZEV systems are put in place as an attempt to counterbalance market forces that have made selling internal combustion engine (ICE) cars more profitable for automakers than selling electrics.
Please don’t buy our cars
The late Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne once notoriously asked customers not to buy the company’s battery-powered Fiat 500e because the business lost money on every one sold, although he reversed that view shortly before his death.
While electrics are cheaper for consumers over the life of the car, automakers have been able to make more money selling cars manufactured in old plants using established technology. Dealer repair shops make more from combustion-engine vehicle maintenance since, by comparison, electrics have so few moving parts.
A Nissan Leaf and a Chevy Bolt are shown at Toronto’s Electric Vehicle Discovery Centre, run by non-profit Plug’n Drive. A national ZEV program could attract more electric cars to Canada. (Don Pittis/CBC)
What ZEV mandates do is force carmakers to increase the percentage of ZEVs and LEVs sold year after year. And if they fail to meet those rising quotas, it forces them to pay what the rules describe as a « royalty. »
That means the most profitable thing car companies can do in the short term is to hold steady the total supply of Canadian electric cars — and merely sell more of them in ZEV jurisdictions. In other words, in Quebec and in B.C.
« Most electric vehicles that are earmarked for the Canadian market are likely be going to be going to those two provinces, » said Woynillowicz.
The federal government has considered a national plan, with a Transport Canada announcement last year going so far as to promise to develop a Canada-wide strategy to increase the number of ZEVs on Canadian roads « by 2018. »
But according to insiders, an advisory group that included carmakers and environmentalists became deadlocked and the group’s report has not been released.
Global shortage
Industry representatives make it clear they don’t like pressure from the sudden imposition of ZEV rules.
David Adams, the president of the industry group Global Automakers of Canada, called the possibility of a ZEV scheme in B.C. « disconcerting, » partly because there just aren’t enough cars to go around.
« The supply issue is a global issue that is going to be with us for two or three more years, » he said in a recent interview.
Ontario electric car expert Cara Clairman has a certain sympathy for an industry that has been surprised and overwhelmed by the demand for battery-powered vehicles.
« To be honest, it’s just so much cheaper, » said Clairman, the CEO of Plug’n Drive, a non-profit organization sponsored by the electric and automotive industries that promotes electric cars.
The Toronto resident has driven her own Chevy Bolt to Montreal, Ottawa and Windsor.
Mitsubishi brought in plenty of its best-selling Outlander PHEV SUV. But other companies may need a nudge from a ZEV program to provide enough electric cars. (Mitsubishi Canada)
Clairman said she has noticed more cars being shipped to Quebec since the province adopted of a ZEV mandate, but she also notes that places like California have electric cars she’s never seen available in Canada.
« Those jurisdictions with a ZEV mandate tend to get the supply when there’s a limited number, » she said.
People shopping for an electric outside Quebec have found some cars — including the Volkswagen e-Golf and any of the Ford electrics — hard to come by. But some car companies — including Mitsubishi, whose Outlander plug-in-hybrid is billed as the world’s best-selling electric SUV — planned ahead and currently has a plentiful supply on dealer lots.
Companies that lead the way on producing enough electrics will win in the long run, Clairman said. But for others, it’s possible the ZEV mandate is necessary to twist a few arms.
« I think, for quite awhile, most of the automakers didn’t want it because they said, ‘We’ll make sure the supply is there.’ But if the supply isn’t there, I think there becomes more and more public pressure to have a ZEV mandate. »
Follow Don on Twitter @don_pittis
The ‘ZEV mandate’ versus the ‘CAFE standard’
Those with a passing familiarity with the rules to make cars less polluting may be confused between the ZEV mandate and the existing CAFE standard, which stands for « corporate average fuel economy, » that U.S. President Donald Trump has moved to abolish. While the two sets of rules overlap in encouraging greater fuel efficiency, some experts, including those advising the State of California, say the ZEV does not replace the need for the CAFE. While the ZEV mandate gradually increases the percentage of zero and low-emission cars on the road, the CAFE standard requires greater efficiency in the entire fleet. « When we talk about a zero-emission mandate requiring one in three cars sold 12 years from now be electric, that means that even 12 years from now, two out of three being sold will have a gasoline engine, » said Dan Woynillowicz. If that occurred, the majority of cars sold could include the highest polluting vehicles — so long as automakers find them profitable. In theory, said Cara Clairman, after many more years, you will have enough electric cars on the road that the effect would be the same. « But I don’t think California would ever go for that, » she said.
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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.
In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.
Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.
With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.
Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”
“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.
The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.
When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.
“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”
MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.
MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.
The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.
The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.
Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.
STUDIO SHORTAGE
The film industry is cramped in Montreal.
According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.
With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.
Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »
« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.
She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.
« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.
There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.
« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.
Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.
For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.
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