B.C. residents now have up to $11K incentive to trade in a gas guzzler for an electric vehicle

B.C. residents can now save up to $11,000 dollarsif they choose to trade in an old car for an electric vehicle.

B.C.'s Minister of Energy Bill Bennett announced themeasure Friday, along with a separate investment of $40 million to encourage B.C. residentsto make the switch.

The province's Clean Energy Vehicles for B.C.program will offer up to $5,000 for an electric vehicle purchase

A non-profit society called B.C. Scrap-It currently offers $6,000 dollars towards electric vehicles purchases, bringing the total savings up to $11,000.

Vehicles priced above $77,000 remain ineligible for purchase incentives.

Growing the EV market

Other programsfunded within the $40 million include expanding public and residential charging infrastructure, supporting job training in the zero-emission vehicle sector, and increasing public awareness of the benefits of electric vehicles.

"This is one of the best ways to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere," said Bennett.

"Transportation accounts for about50 per centof our greenhouse gasoutput in this province,so it's a place where we can really make a difference."

Bennett said electric vehicles currently account for twoper cent of car sales in B.C., with a long-term goal of reaching fiveper cent of all sales.

B.C. gets a C-

According to the province, B.C.has the highest ratio of zero-emission vehicle sales and the largest charging network in Canada.

But areport released bySFU'sSustainable Transportation Action Research Team (START)in November gave B.C.'s electric vehicle program a C-minus, and called on thefederal government and provinces to introduce supply-focused policies.

The province of Quebec and 10 U.S. statesnow require automakers to sell a minimum quota of electric vehicles.

Bennett said B.C. is not ready to introduce such a policy.

"We don't have the confidence that manufacturers and consumers are ready for that," he said.

Suzanne Goldberg, the START group's director of output and research,said the increased incentives are a "step in the right direction."

"It does improve the grade slightly. Without knowing their plan for infrastructure, that incentive can improve sales in the short termand boost B.C. up to a C or a C plus," she said, addingthe policy is "not quite where we need to be in terms of mitigating really dangerous climate change."

Goldberg saidpolicies with long-term effects need to be implemented for B.C. to meaningfully expand its electric vehicle market.

"It's a short term strategy, and it should be combined with other types of policies and incentives to encourage the long-term adoption of these vehicles."

With files from CBC Radio One's B.C. Almanac