An association suspects that some of the 685 Quebecers who have received the $7,000 subsidy from Quebec multiple times to purchase an electric vehicle have made a killing by subsequently reselling them in Ontario.
“We have been told of cases of Ontarians making offers to Quebecers at charging stations. I am surprised that the number of 685 is so low,” admits George Iny, president of the Association for the Protection of Motorists (APA).
George Iny, president of the Association for the Protection of Motorists (APA), was surprised at the small number of people who received the grant twice. PHOTO JOËL LEMAY / AGENCE QMI
In Quebec, the Roulez Vert program allows electric vehicle buyers to receive up to $7,000 toward the purchase of a new 100% electric car, or between $5,000 and $2,500 for a plug-in hybrid vehicle.
You can also have $7,000 for a hydrogen vehicle, $2,000 for an electric motorcycle, or $500 for an electric scooter.
The Journal has learned that for five years, between 2019 and Oct. 31, 2023, more than 685 people ($9.1 million) benefited from purchase grants multiple times, out of a total of 149,516 people ($983.2 million ). the program.
“Very low crime”
This relatively low number leads Ian P. Sam Yue Chi, CEO of the Corporation des Concessionaires Automobiles du Québec (CCAQ), to say that these cases are “anecdotal.”
Photo provided by Ian P. Sam Yue Chi
“One problem, but negligible, is that customers buy multiple electric vehicles to resell them quickly,” he said.
“The good news is that Quebec can recover these funds if the vehicle is sold less than 12 months after purchase,” recalls Ian P. Sam Yue Chi. “Crime is very low,” he emphasizes.
“If some people turn around after using the subsidy to sell their car outside of Quebec, I have a problem with that,” notes Daniel Breton, CEO of Electric Mobility Canada (MEC).
Less now
At the Association of Electric Vehicles of Quebec (AVÉQ), its founder and spokesman Simon-Pierre Rioux notes that this phenomenon has subsided over the past year due to the calming of the market after overheating.
“People were asked to buy their vehicle because there was too high bidding in Ontario, but cars are much more available, prices have gone down, so there is no longer any interest in reselling it there,” he analyzed.
If we ask the Ministry of Environment, Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) whether investigations have been launched into the illegal resale of cars, we answer that the subsidy often goes to people who change cars or who have more than one.
“An electric vehicle can only receive financial support from the program once as it is linked to the vehicle identification number (VIN). “According to our data, no vehicle with the same chassis number has been the subject of two financial aids,” concludes its spokesman Frédéric Fournier.
There are more than 200,000 electric vehicles on our roads, but the Quebec government hopes to reach two million within seven years.
Data from the Ministry of Environment, Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks