The federal electric vehicle sales mandate will not be implemented in 2026 as planned, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Sep. 5, pushing back by at least a year a policy that would have set minimum sales targets for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.Introduced by the Liberals under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, the mandate would have required 20 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Canada next year to be electric.The standard as written is to rise steadily each year until 2035, by which point all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada were to be fully electric or plug-in hybrids.But at a press conference in Mississauga, Ont., Carney said he is suspending the mandate for 2026 and launching a 60-day review of the program to help find “future flexibilities and ways to reduce costs.”In a background document provided to journalists, the government said the review “will consider potential amendments to the annual sales targets, including the 2035 goal, and will explore possible additional flexibilities.”Carney said Canada’s domestic automakers need more liquidity in the face of pressures from the ongoing trade war with the United States.“They’ve got enough on their plate right now,” Carney said. He did not commit to fully repealing the mandate, as the larger car manufacturers have recommended.“We’re using this as an opportunity, as part of a broader strategy on climate competitiveness, to look at all our measures to help get greenhouse gases down in the key sectors,” he added. (ICE TORONTO)

Fonte notizia: https://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/