Environment group warns against repealing federal electric vehicle mandate

An environmental think tank is warning the federal government against repealing its electric vehicle mandate.

In a statement published Friday, Clean Energy Canada said if Ottawa was going to change the mandate, it should be done with near-term adjustments to help the auto sector "weather this temporary storm" of slumping EV sales.

The plea comes on the heels of auto manufacturing leaders meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney last week, in which the CEOs repeated their calls for the mandate to be repealed. Starting next year, 20 per cent of all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada must be zero-emission vehicles — those also include plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

The target rises annually to 100 per cent by 2035. The most recent data from Statistics Canada shows EVs accounted for 7.53 per cent of all new vehicles sold in April.