When Canada announced on Friday, January 10, that it was winding down its federal EV incentive program, it kicked off a weekend of EV buying across the country, especially in Quebec.
On Friday, the government claimed there was $71 million left in the account, and by Monday, the account was closed.
After announcing that the funds would run dry, the Toronto Star is reporting that a single Tesla dealership in Quebec City claimed $20 million in subsidies in one weekend by selling more than 4,000 cars as buyers rushed to take advantage of the $5,000 discount.
Two dealers in Toronto and one in Vancouver, alongside the Quebec City location, all went from selling a few dozen cars per day to offloading 2,500 or more. Over the weekend, the four dealerships together made 8,600 sales, which accounted for $43 million out of the remaining $71 million.
Alongside the removal of the federal incentive, Tesla also announced that it would raise prices on February 1 since it no longer needed to keep its base models under $55,000 to meet the federal funding threshold.
Combine a price hike with the end of the government incentive, and you get a really strong sales event.
The federal government started its EV rebate in 2019 to help Canadians afford electric vehicles, but as the fund hit its final $71 million, the government decided not to replenish it.
While it’s sad to see the federal EV rebate end, these sales numbers really show how much Canadians value discounts when buying typically pricey EVs.
The Star report also mentions that it feels strange that Tesla was able to file this many incentive applications in one weekend.
However, after talking with Transport Canada, it appears that there was little enforcement of the incentive application process, so some of the filed applications were for vehicles that had already been sold.
Tesla also has a leg up on the competition since it can sell vehicles online, allowing it to push sales faster than some legacy automakers.
