It was a busy scene at North Shore Kia in North Vancouver on Tuesday afternoon, where staff worked feverishly to prepare for a rush of electric vehicle buyers.
The combination of high prices and hefty rebates is sparking a boom in sales, and Wednesday, May 1 — when a new federal incentive kicks in — is pickup day for many drivers making the switch to electric.
North Shore Kia said it had a record 40 new electric vehicles on standby.
The new federal incentive is worth $5,000 on vehicles priced at less than $45,000. That stacks on top of a $5,000 provincial incentive.
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And if a driver has a vehicle old enough to qualify for the B.C. Scrap It Program, and scraps the car in favour of an electric vehicle, they can qualify for another $6,000 — for a possible total of $16,000 in incentives.
Plug-in hybrids also qualify for a smaller rebate, $2,500 each from the province and the federal government.
With so much money on the table, electric vehicle vendors say they’re hopeful the general public will finally be ready to convert to electric.