Quebec suspends financial assistance for EV buyers

The Quebec government will suspend subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles between Feb.1 and April 1 next year due to the Roulez vert program's lack of funds.

Financial assistance for the purchase of residential electric charging stations will also be interrupted.

The program provides support ranging from $3,500 to $7,000 to electric or hybrid vehicle buyers in Quebec.

"It's very, very costly. The demand is very high, so we exceeded our budget. So we simply suspend the program for only two months. It's not the end of Roulez vert," said Environment Minister Benoit Charette. 

He assures that's there's "no surplus" to draw on. 

The program, scheduled to end in 2027, was to begin gradually reducing the amount of subsidies paid starting Jan.1, 2025. It is now expected to do so as of April 2025.

"The decision to suspend the Roulez vert program, without any transitional measures, jeopardizes market stability and creates unfortunate uncertainty for our entire industry," wrote Ian P. Sam Yue Chi, CEO of the Quebec Automobile Dealers Corporation (CCAQ) in a statement to Radio-Canada. 

Sam Yue Chi and his group urge the government to suspend penalties scheduled for 2025 to "preserve the confidence" of car dealers and users and to provide a "valuable grace period to adjust strategies for future regulatory changes."

However, the CCAQ mentioned that Quebec's decision to conduct studies on the evolution of the vehicle market in 2026 and 2030 is a "step in the right direction." 

The news came as a surprise to Daniel Breton, president and CEO of Electric Mobility Canada and a former Quebec environment minister, because the government had already announced that rebates would be reduced.

"What's even more surprising is the fact that the Climate Change and Electrification Fund has significant surpluses and that the government doesn't want to invest it all in policy, solar, GHC emissions," said Breton. 

He believes there will be a slowdown of EV sales from February to April. And for those who are on a waiting list, Breton expects that if their dealers inform them that their car is ready to be picked up, they'll wait until April to benefit from the rebate.

"It's going to be a pain in the neck for dealers, consumers, and manufacturers," he said.

Financial aid for buying and installing home, multi-unit and work charging stations will continue.