Canada

Following last week’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US, German legacy automakers Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz have sealed agreements with the Canadian government to acquire raw materials for EV battery manufacturing at their US facilities. This move could help EVs from both automakers qualify for US tax credits under the revised terms of the recently signed bill.

Zero-emission bus manufacturer, Letenda, has unveiled its flagship Electrip electric bus designed specifically to navigate the harsh winter conditions in Canada. The all-electric city bus is the flagship vehicle for Letenda following six years of research and development, alongside help from partners like Cummins.

Canada is the latest country to announce an upcoming ban on new gas-powered car sales. Canada has set the target of 2035 in a move to accelerate electric vehicle adoption.

The recently announced investment from the Government of Canada includes zero-emissions public transit and school buses. The full $2.75 billion will be funded over the next five years starting in 2021. The Government of Canada expects the investment to promote jobs and economic recovery in a net-zero emissions future.

Hydro-Québec wants to offer per-kWh pricing, as well as Tesla plugs alongside CCS and Chademo connectors at its hundreds of DCFC stations. So what’s holding them back? Blame Canada (and Tesla, respectively).

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Canada’s newly announced $5,000 incentive for electric vehicles is officially going into effect on May 1st next month and the federal government has released the list of eligible vehicles.

Tesla vehicles are officially ineligible for the incentive. Expand
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A new report on Canada’s changing climate concludes that warming in the country is occurring at double the rate of global warming, among other alarming findings. And opposing greenhouse gas emissions scenarios present “very different futures.”

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We are not talking about Norway-level of electric vehicle adoption just yet, but the start of volume deliveries of the Tesla Model 3 in Canada over the last two quarters has helped push EV sales to a new record high relative to new car sales.

Electric vehicle sales now represent over 8-percent of new car sales in Canada. Expand
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Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political review/analysis of important green energy news.

Today on EGEB, the U.S. East coast is about to become an offshore wind powerhouse with two projects totaling 1200 MW on the way. Canadian Solar is reeling under Trump administration’s protectionist policy. A new report by the consulting company ICF Inc underlines that now is the best time tax-wise to upgrade existing wind turbines.

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Electrek Green Energy Brief: A daily technical, financial, and political review/analysis of important green energy news.

Today on EGEB, Chinese scientists unveil their newest invention: a solar panel powered not only by the sun but also rain. Edmonton’s urban planning committee proposes that every municipal service use only renewable energy. U.S. Department of Energy will construct a new test facility running concentrated solar power on a level never seen before.

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Electric vehicle adoption in Canada grew significantly last year according to a new report.

There are now close to 50,000 plug-in vehicles in the country and sales grew 68% in 2017. Expand
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While government efforts to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles have been mostly at the provincial level in Canada, it’s apparently about to change.

The federal government has announced that they are developing a new “national strategy to increase the number of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVS) on Canadian roads”. Expand
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Electric vehicle sales keep increasing at an impressive pace in Canada to a point that they are now representing a meaningful percentage of overall car sales.

During the first quarter 2017, electric vehicle deliveries reached a record high of 1,474 units (BEVs and PHEVs) – up 68% over the same period last year. Expand
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After a long wait and some confusion with pricing, Tesla finally started to deliver the Tesla Model X Signature series in Canada this week. The first few vehicles were delivered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Expand
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During the Model 3 unveiling event in March, Tesla CEO Elon Musk made an important announcement curcial to the success of the Model 3: the expansion of its two networks of charging stations. He said that Tesla will double the number of Superchargers to 7,000 units and quadruple the number of Destination chargers to 15,000 units within the next 2 years.

We reported last month that the company already started expanding the Supercharger with permits or started construction at 11 new locations (~90 new Superchargers) since the unveiling event. Now Tesla announced an expansion in Canada with 5 new locations – all in eastern Canada. Expand
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The Canadian Federal government, led by the newly elected Liberal party, unveiled its first budget this week and it confirmed a significant deficit for the next two years (~$29 billion) attached to important tax cuts for the middle class and families.

As for EVs, if you were hoping for a federal tax credit for electric vehicles, you will be disappointed, but the government is still throwing a few bones to EV enthusiasts. Expand
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After revealing European prices last week, today Tesla confirmed its Canadian Model X pricing and reservation holders can now access Tesla’s design studio to configure their vehicle.

If you reserved the vehicle a few years ago when the Canadian dollar was still holding its ground against the USD, you better be seated when scrolling through the Model X’s pricing because it starts at $122,700 for a base 70D model and can get as high as $208,300 for a fully-equipped P90DL. Expand
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Update: A reddit user hopped over to the new Tesla location, and it looks like the company already has a sign up. See the bottom of the post for the image.

According to a report from New York real estate news site The Real Deal, a Tesla store will be the anchor for a new office conversion in Red Hook, New York City. Sources for the site say that the Palo Alto company signed a lease for a new space of roughly 40,000 square feet that will serve as an office, a service center, and a showroom for the company’s many EV offerings…

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Tesla quietly updated its Canadian online design studio and appears to have discontinued several major options for the Model S in the country, namely all 85 kWh battery pack options. Expand
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During the weekend, Tesla quietly increased the price of the Model S in Canada by an average of 2%, presumably to adjust for the weak Canadian currency – $1 CAD = $0.75 USD at the moment.

The less expensive version of the Model S, the 70 kWh rear wheel drive, now starts at $89,100 before incentives and destination fees. A fully equipped P90D now costs $173,800 before any incentives.

Here are the Canadian prices for the different Model S drivetrain configurations from Tesla’s design studio: Expand
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