Electric, driverless vehicles key to survival of Canada’s auto industry

Excerpt of an article published in The Star

March 5, 2019 – If Canada’s auto industry is to have a successful future, governments need to focus on supporting electric and autonomous vehicles, as well as fuel-efficient gas vehicles, according to a new report issued on February 26.

The report produced by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), a progressive think tank, says auto companies might be attracted here by a skilled, educated and experienced labour force, but that is simply not enough.

Report after report shows that North American consumers are buying SUVs, large sedans and other relative gas guzzlers, rather than more fuel-efficient models. And electric vehicles account for less than two per cent of the market on this continent.

The report calls for financial incentives for companies that produce green vehicles, and for increased tax credits and grants for small tech companies, to help develop a test market “for Canadian-made innovations.”

Read the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’s full report