Skimming Quebec's new EV game plan

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Berlino

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 20, 2013
Messages
661
Location
Quebec City, Canada
Just released today, Quebec's new plan to promote fueling means of transportation with electricity.

This includes mass transit as well as family cars, taxis, etc.

A loose translation to follow of a 113-page document. I'll skip the parts not concerning EVs.

$65M in order to prolong for three years the maximum $8,000 rebate for purchasing an EV. (Was slated to drop to $4,000 in 2014, $3,000 in 2015, and disappear in 2016). The 50% rebate, up to $1,000, on the purchase and installation of a L2 EVSE at home is also being extended until the end of 2016.

A $500 rebate on the purchase non plug-in hybrids is being restored for three years. It had been eliminated a year or two ago.

A demonstration project of electric taxis is to be launched. They say they it will be on the order of 325 vehicles. Without CARB-ZEV, it will be impossible to acquire 325 EVs suitable as taxis, unless they are talking about a very long time-frame.

Taxi companies can get a rebate of $20,000 per EV purchase (limited to 50 per year, total I think). A $12,500 rebate is applicable on PHEVs, for up to 275/year. These rebates will drop by $2,000/year. A rebate of $2,000 is also being offered on non plug-in hybrids, but only for the first 200. This last limit is not renewed annually.

The government will pay 75% of the cost of the purchase and installation of 125 L2 charging stations for taxis in strategic locations. The government will pick up the cost of installing L3 stations for taxi use.

The government is committed to having 5,000 public charging stations available in Quebec with three years. Currently, I think there are about 500-600 L2s.
As part of this plan, each provincial building with 150+ employees will get a station, accounting for 1,000 stations right there. Buildings with less employees, but which receive the public may also qualify.

They also talk about a projected 3,500 stations to be installed by companies and dedicated for employee use. To this end, a rebate of 75%, up to $5,000, will be offered to businesses for each L2 or 120v installation, on the condition that the companies do not charge their employees to charge for a period of at least three years.


The province is committed to gradually replacing the ICE vehicles in its fleet by electric ones.

Laws and decrees will be changed or implemented to promote EV use. ---This needs to more detail. I was hoping for CARB-ZEV.. Specific measures mentioned are access to restricted traffic lanes and changing the building code for new residential projects to include 240V outlets.

There are zero HOV lanes that I'm aware of in QC. There are bus lanes, and except for those on the highway, I don't think it would be good to allow EVs into them.

There's a chart showing the number of charging stations and government rebate per person in various countries. The USA's data is off because it only takes into account Federal incentives.

By the summer of 2014, four L3 stations will be installed at points between Montreal and Quebec City along highway 40. (Along the North Shore highway of the St. Lawrence, this works out to about 50 miles between each L3). They're calling this a pilot project, so L3 deployment along other highways will be delayed. [sigh]


The government plans to advertize the advantages of EVs.
 
There are zero HOV lanes that I'm aware of in QC. There are bus lanes, and except for those on the highway, I don't think it would be good to allow EVs into them.

The El Monte Busway along I-10 east of downtown Los Angeles was originally designed for buses only. It was later opened to 3+ carpools, but when the law was changed to allow 2+ carpools it caused the buses to be delayed.

So the law was again changed to mandate 3+ carpools during peak commute hours (which are posted).

The Busway was recently converted into a Pay to Use lane (requiring a FasTrak transponder for billing) but still requires 2+/3+ occupancy depending on time. Cars with HOV exemption stickers like EV's and certain plug-in hybrids can travel solo in those lanes.

Cars are not allowed on the bus lanes on city streets such as northbound Spring Street in downtown LA (cars are southbound only).
 
RonDawg said:
Cars are not allowed on the bus lanes on city streets

Am I correct that EVs are allowed on all bus lanes in Norway? I've heard that bus drivers there a starting to complain about having difficulty meeting their schedules due to crowding in their lanes. In any case, I can't see buses and EVs getting along in city lanes in North America.

It turns out someone asked the Premier directly at the press conference if Quebec would be enacting a law along the lines of CARB-ZEV. The response depresses me: "we consulted the manufacturers and they promised that they're going to drastically increase their offer of EVs (in Québec)."

Good luck with voluntary measures.
 
Berlino said:
It turns out someone asked the Premier directly at the press conference if Quebec would be enacting a law along the lines of CARB-ZEV. The response depresses me: "we consulted the manufacturers and they promised that they're going to drastically increase their offer of EVs (in Québec)."

Good luck with voluntary measures.

Someone at that press conference should have asked your Premier about when one can get a RAV-4 EV, Fit EV, or 500e at a local dealership.

BTW I had heard that Canada will amend its car safety regs to be in line with UNECE. Is that true? If so Renault could bring over the Zoe and Fluence ZE with relatively few modifications, primarily DRL's and a J1772 compliant charging system.
 
RonDawg said:
BTW I had heard that Canada will amend its car safety regs to be in line with UNECE. Is that true?

I'm afraid I'm not up on those regs and don't know at all. Renault pulled out of the Canadian market years ago.
 
Berlino said:
I'm afraid I'm not up on those regs and don't know at all. Renault pulled out of the Canadian market years ago.

Yeah Renault's efforts in the US largely evaporated after they sold AMC/Jeep to Chrysler. If they do decide to come back (which would be made easier if they didn't have to significantly alter their cars for the North American market) they could piggy-back onto existing Nissan dealers the way Fiat did with Chrysler.
 
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