Changes to BC EV rebates could impact your car selection

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If you’ve been considering getting an electric vehicle (EV) in BC, be warned that some changes to how the rebates work could impact your selection.

Josie Osborne, the minister of energy, mines, and low-carbon innovation, outlined the changes to the CleanBC EV rebate program for Daily Hive.

She said the changes stem from “sales increasing faster than anticipated,” adding that they’re currently at record levels.

“We needed to make adjustments to our CleanBC electric vehicle rebate program given available funding.”

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The main change that will impact buyers is lowering the MSRP cap to $50,000 for the rebate’s cars category. Those changes are now reflected on the CleanBC website.

Mid-size, large cars, station wagons and SUVs are now under the car category.

The cap for large vehicles, which include mini-vans, small and standard pickup trucks, and passenger vans, remains unchanged at $70,000.

The actual rebates you could qualify for depend entirely on your income level.

CleanBC

If you’re looking at a Tesla, the base Model 3 slips under the MSRP cap at $49,990. Every other model is above that $50,000 threshold.

Osborne hopes that these changes will force manufacturers to lower their prices.

“This will ensure rebates are targeted to vehicles for middle-income families. It will also push manufacturers to lower their prices – many cars are priced just above $50k. There will still be over 70 vehicle trims eligible for the program with these changes,” she said.

Osborne also points out this isn’t the first or only change to how EV rebates work in BC.

“In 2019, we reduced the MRSP cap from $77k to $55k. And in August 2022, we income-tested the program and lowered the rebate amounts. These changes did not impact EV sales; in fact, they continued to increase – and EVs are now almost one in every four cars sold in BC.