Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) believes that the Quebec government’s decision to lower the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales target to 80% by 2035 constitutes a reasonable compromise in the current context.

However, we would have preferred to see stronger interim targets in order to maintain a clear and sustained path toward the full electrification of the province’s vehicle fleet. While this compromise may satisfy some lagging automakers in the short term, the inclusion of non-plug-in hybrid vehicles in the target calculation is a significant error. There is no electric vehicle sales mandate anywhere else in the world that includes conventional hybrids, and for good reason:

1. A non-plug-in hybrid vehicle does not belong to the category of vehicles that can legitimately be categorized as zero-emission vehicles, since it can only operate in electric mode for a few kilometres at most.
2. According to EMC’s calculations, the greenhouse gas emissions of a non-plug-in hybrid vehicle will be at least 365 times higher per kilometre driven than those of an equivalent electric vehicle after 15% of the vehicle’s lifespan, which corresponds to the payback period for the environmental impact of battery manufacturing.
3. It is completely false to say that non‑plug‑in hybrid vehicles are needed in regions where there are fewer public charging stations, because plug‑in hybrid vehicles can perform very well in rural and remote areas.

For EMC, it is essential that the ZEV sales standard continue to prioritize truly zero-emission vehicles in order to ensure that Quebec meets its climate objectives and to provide consumers with a consistent signal for the future.