FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Clean Energy Vehicle (CEV) Incentive Program is intended to encourage and accelerate clean energy vehicle deployment and technology innovation within British Columbia. The program provides point of sale incentives of up to $5,000 (additional up to $1,000 for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles for fuelling) to qualified BC residents, businesses, public agencies and entities (including municipal and regional governments and first nations, but excluding provincial, crown, and federal government agencies), and non-profit organizations for the purchase or lease of eligible vehicles. The CEV Incentive Program is administered and implemented through a partnership between the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines and the New Car Dealers Association of British Columbia (NCDA).

The dealership which must be an eligible dealer, and would be required to deduct the incentive amount off the final vehicle price for each clean energy vehicle.  The dealership would then submit an application to the New Car Dealers Association of BC for reimbursement for the total amount of incentives provided to eligible purchasers/lessees. The point of sale incentives will be available for eligible vehicles sold/leased beginning April 1st, 2015 and until March 31st, 2020 (or when program funding is depleted, whichever comes first), on a first-come, first-served basis.
 

The following types of four-wheel vehicles qualify for the rebate:

• Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV)
• Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) or Extended Range Electric Vehicle (E-REV), with a minimum battery capacity of 4kWh
• Fuel Cell Vehicle (FCV)

A qualified Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that is eligible to receive a vehicle incentive under the CEV Program will also receive an additional $1,000 point-of-sale incentive, known as the “fuelling point-of-sale incentive”. This additional incentive is to offset the current barrier of limited hydrogen fuelling locations for fuel cell vehicles. This incentive is also not part of the price negotiation process; the dealership will be required to deduct the fuelling point-of-sale incentive for each eligible hydrogen fuel cell vehicle off the final vehicle price.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Rebate will also applied on leased vehicles depending on the term of the lease and whether the vehicle is used for personal or fleet purposes as shown below. To qualify for the full value of the incentive, a minimum 36-month lease term is required. If the applicant breaks the lease, the applicant will be required to return the difference between the original lease time incentive and the actual lease time incentive.

The additional $1,000 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Rebate will be applied on leased vehicles as shown in the following table:

*NOTE: Fleet vehicle are not eligible for 12 month or 24 month lease incentives

The rebate will be applied only to eligible vehicles bought from eligible dealerships on or after April 1st, 2015.
 

Yes. The purchaser/lessee of the vehicles must be an individual, business, non-profit, or public entity (including municipal and regional governments and First Nations, but excluding provincial, crown, and federal government agencies) that is a BC resident or the business, non-profit or public entity is based in BC or has a BC-based affiliate.  All businesses must be licensed to operate in BC.
 

Ensure the purchaser / lessee of the vehicles is an individual, business, non-profit, or public entity that is a British Columbia resident of the business, non-profit or public entity is based in British Columbia or has a British Columbia-based affiliate. All businesses must be licensed to operate in British Columbia. 

A demo vehicle is only eligible if it meets all of the following criteria:

•  It has never been registered (except for the OEM/dealership)
•  It has only ever been driven by dealership staff (except for test drives) and
•  Its mileage is less than 10,000 kilometers.

For demo vehicles deals, a demo vehicle declaration must be provided along with the other required supporting documents. Click here for the form (it must be printed on the dealership's letterhead).

No. Vehicles purchased out-of-province or out-of-country, are not eligible for the point of sale incentive. Please go to dealership directory to find a participating BC dealership in your area that is authorized to provide eligible clean energy vehicles incentives.
 

Yes. The limit is a maximum of 10 incentives per individual, business or organization over the course of this program.
For fleet leases, the rebate is only available for vehicles that are leased for a minimum of 36 months.

No. Aftermarket conversions are not eligible for the CEV Incentive Program.

Only new cars that have never been the subject of a retail sale or been previously owned are eligible for the point-of-sale incentive. For more information about this please click on this link: http://www.cevforbc.ca/vehicle-eligibility-criteria.

Yes. Participation in the CEV Incentive Program does not preclude a vehicle purchaser or lessee from taking advantage of other incentive opportunities.  Incentives could be combined with other federal, provincial or local agency incentives.
 

The SCRAP-IT Program has no affiliation with the CEVforBC Program.

Depending on the type of vehicle purchased, it is possible to combine the incentives offered through each program.

CLICK HERE to see the incentives offered by the Scrap-It BC Program.

The BC SCRAP-IT Program will offer incentives to owners of vehicles to scrap their older high polluting vehicles and provide them with an incentive towards the purchase of a new electric vehicle. Specifically, SCRAP-IT will offer up to $6,000 incentive to vehicle owners to scrap their existing vehicle and replace it with a new electric vehicle. Battery electric, and extended range battery electric vehicles with a battery capacity over 15kWh will qualify for the program. 

The customer does not need to apply – the onus is on the dealership.

The dealership gives the rebate to the customer at the point-of-sale as a clearly marked line item deducting the rebate amount from the final vehicle price on the Bill of Sale or Lease Agreement.

Yes. The ZAP-BC Program offers charging stations for customers who purchase a new clean energy vehicle. See more information here: www.zapbc.ca

For further information of charging stations placed around BC, please visit: www.pluginbc.ca

As a result of the previous Clean Energy Vehicle Program, there are 550 public level 2 charging stations across British Columbia, 142 level 2 charging stations in multi-unit buildings, 306 residential level 2 charging stations, 13 DC fast charging stations (with 17 more planned by March 31, 2016). In addition, there is an existing array of resources, available on the PlugInBC.ca website www.pluginbc.ca, for planning and installing charging stations.

The CEV Charging Program (www.pluginbc.ca/charging-stations/) will seek to fill in regional and use-case gaps in electric vehicle charging infrastructure to further reduce one of the key barriers to market adoption of electric vehicles which is range anxiety. In some cases the installation of charging infrastructure requires targeted education programs with building owners, operators and / or tenants. The CEV Charging Program will include these types of targeted, case- specific, education projects. The CEV Charging Program is required to help achieve the overall CEV Program vision that by 2020 5% of new light duty vehicle purchases in British Columbia are clean energy vehicles

The purpose of CEV Charging Program is to continue to encourage clean energy vehicle deployment and technology innovation in the province, by:

• Supporting up to 30 additional DC Fast Charging station locations, and refitting up to 6 of the existing DC Fast Charging stations to be compatible with vehicles requiring the SAE standard for charging,
• Supporting up to 300 more Level 2 charging stations in sectors or geographic locations where there is a gap in charging infrastructure
• Supporting increased awareness and understanding of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure in stations or geographic locations where there is a gap in vehicle adoption or charging infrastructure (e.g. multi-unit residential buildings, workplace charging)
• Leveraging industry, including automaker, investment in charging infrastructure across British Columbia.

For more information, please visit www.pluginbc.ca/charging-stations/

The customer does not need to apply – the onus is on the dealership.

The dealership gives the rebate to the customer at the point-of-sale as a clearly marked line item on the Bill of Sale or Lease Agreement. Then the dealership must apply for the rebate to be reimbursed back to them using the online form found under Dealers tab.
To take advantage of the CEV Point of Sale Incentives, please visit an authorized auto dealership in your area. To find an authorized dealership please click here

Eligible Applicants must meet requirements that include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. The purchaser/lessee of the vehicles must be an individual, business, public agencies and entities (including municipal and regional governments and first nations, but excluding provincial, crown, and federal government agencies), and non-profit organizations that is a BC resident of the business, non-profit or public entity is based in British Columbia or has a BC-based affiliate.  All businesses must be licensed to operate in BC.

2. An individual or fleet may receive a maximum of 10 rebates from the CEV Program. Requests for more than 10 rebates will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Any exception is at the sole discretion of the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

3. The purchase/lease date is not prior to the vehicle being included on the list of Eligible vehicles, and prior to exhaustion of available rebate funds.

4. Submit the application form and attach all required supporting documentation within 15 days of the date of sale.

5. Required documentation to be submitted as part of the Dealers application for reimbursement to the NCDABC for incentives issued will include, at a minimum, the following:

• Application Checklist
• Letter of Received Rebate
• Proof that each sale / lease of an eligible CEV vehicle was made to a BC resident (or BC business operating in BC with a valid business license or to a public agency in BC).

  * Please ensure that:

  - For individuals: Applicant’s current BC driver’s license number is included on the application form AND; a copy of the applicant’s current BC driver’s license is attached with the supporting documents OR the applicant’s current BC driver’s license is included on the binding contract.

  -  For business: Applicant’s valid BC Incorporation number (formatted “BC0000000” [“BC” followed by 7 digits]) is provided on the application form and/or a copy of the BC Registry Services BC Company Summary is attached with the supporting documents.

  • A copy of the sales contract (for sales) or lease contract (for leases) signed by all parties with an itemization of credits, discounts, and incentives received, if applicable.

  • In a scenario where the dealership sells a vehicle to a third-party leasing company and the leasing company leases it to an end-user, the dealership has two options:

  A. Apply as a sale: In this case, the leasing company would be the applicant and thus must meet the eligibility criteria listed above. Note: You must ensure that the leasing company did not reach the limit of 10 incentives throughout the Program.
  OR
  B. Apply as a lease: In this case, the end-user would be the applicant and thus must meet the eligibility criteria listed above. The lease agreement between the third-party leasing company and the end-user is required with the CEVforBC incentive applied and properly labelled.

  Once the New Car Dealers Association of BC Program Administrator has verified the documentation, the New Car Dealers Association of BC will reimburse the dealership for incentives provided.
   

• A copy of the sales or lease contract signed by all parties with an itemization of credits, discounts, and incentives received, if applicable.

6. Ensure modifications are not made or allowed to the vehicle’s emissions control systems, hardware, software calibrations, or hybrid system.

7. Be available for follow-up inspection if requested by NCDABC, BC Ministry of Energy and Mines or the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines’s designee for the purposes of program oversight and accountability.

8. The Dealership submitting the application must be a member in good standing of the New Car Dealers Association of BC.

If the applicant breaks the lease, the applicant will be required to return the difference between the original lease time incentive and the actual lease time incentive.

Please note: If the applicant breaks the lease in the first 12 months of the lease, the applicant will be required to return the FULL amount of the CEVforBC incentive.

Vehicles must meet the following criteria to be eligible for a point of sale incentive:

Vehicle Must Be New

To be eligible, the vehicle must be a new vehicle constructed entirely from new parts that have never been the subject of a retail sale, or previously registered in British Columbia or other jurisdiction. The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or its authorized licensee must manufacture the vehicle. Registration of Out-of-Province Vehicles, are not eligible vehicles. If the vehicle is not new, has been re-leased, is the subject of a lease assumption or has been transferred into British Columbia after previously having been registered out-of province, the vehicle is not eligible for an incentive through the CEV Program. Aftermarket plug-in hybrid electric vehicle conversions are not eligible for CEV Incentive funding.

Vehicle Must Be Certified

To be eligible, the vehicle must be either covered by a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certificate or be deemed to be covered by an EPA certificate in accordance with the On-Road Vehicle and Engine Emission Regulation under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA, 1999), and must meet all requirements outlined in Transport Canada’s Motor Vehicle Safety Act and its regulations.

Vehicle MSRP Must Be Less Than $77,000

Effective March 2, 2016 vehicles must have a MSRP price of $77,000 and under to be considered eligible for the program. If someone placed an order for a vehicle before March 2nd, 2016 (announcement date), then they would be “grandfathered” under the old rules given that the funds are still available, but if they are placing an order after March 2, 2016 then they would not be eligible for the incentive. 

Vehicle Must Be Highway Capable

BC Ministry Energy and Mines may request that a vehicle manufacturer provide a written statement declaring whether or not the vehicle is capable of highway operation. A vehicle will be presumed not capable of operation on the highway if any one of the following circumstances apply:

• The vehicle is a low-speed vehicle.
• The vehicle is prohibited by law from being operated on the highway or is only capable of limited operation on the highway.
• The manufacturer has required, or will require, the purchaser or lessee to sign an agreement that limits, or prevents, the operation of the vehicle on the highway.
• There is a written manufacturer's statement or recommendation (which can include the owner's manual for the vehicle) that the vehicle should not be operated on the highway or should have limited operation on the highway.

Vehicle Must Remain Plated, Registered and Insured in British Columbia in the Applicant’s Name for At Least 12 months from Date Of Sale

To receive a vehicle incentive the vehicle must remain plated, registered and insured in British Columbia in the applicant’s name for at least 12 months from date of sale. It will be expected that the dealership through tracking of the applicant ensure that the applicant abides by the above conditions for 12 months. If before the 12 months is up, the applicant does not abide by all of the above conditions, the dealership will be required to collect from the applicant the repayment of the full amount of the point-of-sale discount they had received through the CEV Program.

The dealership would submit the repayment to the NCDA, who would put it back into the point-of-sale incentive funding. However, if the repayment is received after the term of the agreement has expired, NCDA would in that case submit the repayment to BC MINISTRY OF ENERGY AND MINES.

In the circumstances in which the dealership is unsuccessful after 12 months of attempting to obtain repayments from the non-abiding applicants, the dealership would submit documentation of all attempts at recovery. NCDA would submit the documentation to BC Ministry Energy and Mines.

These repayment procedures would also apply to any repayments received regarding leases.

No. A single application must be made for each vehicle.
 

No. The dealer acts as an agent on behalf of the customer and is not allowed to charge a fee for this service.
 

Manufacturers are able to apply to have new models added to the list at any time.

NOTE: customers must purchase newly added models on or after the date that the vehicle is added to the eligible list on our website in order to receive the rebate.

Once the funds are depleted the program ends.
 

Any personal information collected on the application form is subject to the terms set forth under the Privacy Policy on our website www.CEVforBC.ca.
 

There are no residential charging incentives or rebates. If you live in a multi-unit strata, you may be eligible to participate in an incentive program later in the year.

Check www.pluginbc.ca for more details.

If you should have any questions or require further information please contact the CEVforBC™ Program Coordinator at:

Toll-free: 1 (844) 4-CEV4BC
              1 (844) 423-8422

Telephone: (604) 214-9964 x224

Email:  cev@newcardealers.ca