Ontario Cutting Electric Vehicle Subsidies, $43 Million In Savings Expected

Ontario's 2012 budget was released this morning, and while the United States under the Obama administration seems intent on boosting subsidies for alternative fuel vehicles, including EVs, those in the Great White North's most populous province are able to see the writing on the wall with regards to EVs. Two programs, designed to encourage EV charging station infrastructure and provide generous tax rebates to EV owners (as much as $8,500 for vehicles with a 20 kWh battery like the Fisker Karma) are being merged. Despite the provinces vision to have one out of every 20 vehicles on the road in 2020 powered by electricty, only 200 grants have been handed out under the Electric Vehicle Incentive Program and only six charging stations have been built. That's in a province with an estimated 7,000,000 vehicles on the road, and a far cry from the projected 350,000 EVs that were supposed to be on the road in 8 years time. Details of the merger are murky, but the move is expected to save $43 million dollars for the cash strapped province over three years, but the news merited only a brief blurb in the addendum to the 2012 budget. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

puts the internet to work for you. via task 680102