Toyota delivered 1,223 vehicles eligible for the federal rebate in April, its highest tally so far this year.
Toyota vaulted ahead of competing brands to deliver the most vehicles eligible for the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) program in April, largely thanks to a surge in shipments of its Rav4 plug-in hybrid. The automaker delivered 1,223 vehicles eligible for the federal rebate in April, its highest tally so far this year.
Tesla and Hyundai placed a close second and third, respectively shipping 1,054 and 1,035 qualifying vehicles to Canadian customers.
Chevrolet delivered 792 eligible Bolt EUVs in April, edging the 768 Model 3s shipped by Tesla for the top spot in the battery-electric segment.
The iZEV program provides a $5,000 rebate for BEVs, as well as PHEVs with electric range greater than 49 kilometres. PHEVs with less electric range qualify for $2,500.
The same eligibility criteria applies to both categories. Zero-emission passenger cars starting at less than $55,000, and higher-cost variants up to $65,000 qualify for the incentives. Larger vehicles such as pickups, minivans and SUVs must have a base price of less than $60,000, and higher-cost variants must start at less than $70,000. Higher-cost trim levels are not eligible.
Shipments of two newly eligible BEVs began in April. Hyundai delivered the first of its qualifying Ioniq 6 fastback sedans, while Tesla cut the starting price of its Model Y late in the month, giving the crossover access to the iZEV program.
The introductory version of the Model Y is imported from China and uses a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. It’s priced $10,000 cheaper than the long-range version of the crossover. Some higher-cost versions of the crossover also now qualify for the federal rebate because of the program’s pricing threshold for higher-cost variants.
Toyota’s Rav4 dethroned the Mitsubishi Outlander in the plug-in hybrid category in April, recording 910 eligible deliveries, compared to the Outlander’s 820. The Outlander has held the top spot throughout the first quarter.
Qualifying shipments of other PHEVs remained sluggish during the month. The Jeep Wrangler 4xe placed a distant third place with 279 eligible deliveries.
Deliveries of vehicles eligible for iZEV rebates fell to 8,045 in April, slipping from their all-time high in March.
Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia all posted declines in qualifying vehicle volumes, with B.C. deliveries slipping nearly 30 per cent during the month.
