Newly appointed Honda Canada CEO Jean Marc Leclerc said Canada won’t meet its greenhouse emissions targets pursuing just a zero-emissions vehicle policy.
Leclerc said there’s simply not enough demand for electric vehicles yet to turn the tide on GHG’s for Canada to achieve its commitments to the Paris Accord.
“They’re (federal government) not going to achieve it with EVs simply because of cost and forcing manufacturers to sell them at a loss,” Leclerc said.
“Nobody wants to talk about how much this costs and what people are prepared to pay. They’re just forging forward thinking we have all the solutions and we don’t.”
Leclerc said electrification is the future, but there ‘is a massive disconnect right now’ between the political desire to move to zero-emission vehicles quickly and what the market is demanding.
“There’s a political agenda,” Leclerc said.
“It’s easy for people to understand zero emission vehicles as a political statement.
“Any other technology or combination of strategies, you’re beyond the elevator pitch in terms of time to explain and people’s capacity to understand.
“I think that’s why there’s been a push back on what we see as a practical approach to reducing GHGs in Canada.”
Leclerc said studies have shown Canadians are willing to pay $700 more to purchase an electric vehicle.
With EVs you’re basically getting a trickle right now. If you’re looking at saving the planet and having heavier reductions of GHG, the math doesn’t work.
He said only about two per cent of the 28 million vehicles on the road in Canada are EVs.
“The heavy investments you need to invest to produce those (electric vehicles) and you’re questioning whether you’ll be able to sell those at a profit,” Leclerc said.
“That’s why we’re really concerned about governments putting out more zero emission mandates that will not really achieve a great deal of GHG reduction in the short term.
“The reality is we’re a long way from that ($700 difference) in a cost perspective.”
Currently the federal government aims to have five to 10 per cent of all new vehicles sales be zero emission vehicles by 2030 with 100 per cent of new sales being zero emission by 2040.
Leclerc said Honda Canada has been pushing the federal government to take a more balanced approach to reducing GHGs. He said it will also be a mistake to have politicians dictate technological solutions to manufacturers.
“In our discussions with the government we basically tell them just give the GHG reduction targets you’re looking for and let us figure out to how to achieve them,” Leclerc said.
“Don’t impose a technology. Don’t impose EVs, that’s a big topic in imposing zero emission vehicles.”
Leclerc said Honda’s vehicles have the best fleet rating for fuel efficiency and emissions. The company offers a variety of hybrid vehicles including the Ontario-produced Civic and CR-V.
“Even for us to meet the government’s general standards in Canada, we’re going to need to sell a lot of gasoline/hybrid vehicles,” Leclerc said.
“Frankly for the government to achieve their GHG targets they’re going to need to get as many low-emitting vehicles in the market as quickly as possible.
“With EVs you’re basically getting a trickle right now. If you’re looking at saving the planet and having heavier reductions of GHG, the math doesn’t work.”
Leclerc said automakers are also encouraging the government to be part of a North American plan for standardized fuel efficiency requirements.
“If they (U.S) go in a different direction or we decide to be aggressive here in Canada relative to GHG reductions, what you’ll have is an imbalance in terms of products being developed and produced,” Leclerc said.
“They’re always developed and produced for the larger market. We’re a little concerned about that.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
