Proposed Light Duty Zero-Emission Vehicle Regulations —
Nevertheless, the executive summary is that starting in 2026, the federal government will plot the trajectory of sales of zero-emission vehicles that it expects automakers to sell. Starting in 2026, the program calls for the number of zero-emissions vehicles an automaker must sell to be at least 20 per cent
There is some valid argument for the government’s heavy-handed approach. Though automakers have jumped on the battery-powered bandwagon to varying degrees, legendary has been the industry’s foot-dragging in reducing its carbon footprints. Save for perhaps Tesla and Toyota , automakers have been dragged kicking and screaming into the carbon-reducing arena. If, as some might believe, they have finally gotten the message, perhaps these Draconian measures are a little overdone.
And that’s where we get into unintended consequences. Let’s imagine that in 2030, a car company — let’s call it Ford, but it could just as easily be GM or Stellantis — ends the year having sold the requisite 60 per cent BEVs and also restricted itself to 40 per cent gas-powered vehicles. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll say the 60 per cent battery-electric are Mustang Mach-Es, and the remainder are all F-150s. They would be 100 per cent compliant with the letter of the law.
But, I hear you crowing, that’s not a fair comparison. For one thing, it’s all based on an unreasonable assumption. No way are all of the gas-powered vehicles Ford sells in 2030 going to be gas-guzzling pickups! Even those restrictions may not dampen the sales of ICE-powered cars as much as the Liberal government might think. There’s already a healthy industry of shipping cars across the border taking advantage of exchange rate fluctuations. But the monies to be made playing currency speculator dim in comparison to the profits available when there’s a guaranteed $20,000 in the trunk. US dealers need only put a few miles on a brand-spanking new ICE and then wheel it across the border for huge profit.