Electric cars: great deals in the United States

© Photo Daniel Mallard

Frédéric Mercier

Friday, 16 February 2018 13:55

UPDATE
Friday, 16 February 2018 13:55

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Electric vehicles are on sale since a few years already, so that one can now find several on the used market.

Except that the high price of Quebec are pushing some consumers to turn to the side of the United States to find their electric vehicle used.

This is the case of André Boily, who has recently had to import a Chevrolet Volt, 2015 the state of Michigan and who claims to have saved a few thousand dollars.

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For the purchase of their vehicle, Mr. Boily has contracted the services of Muze, a “centre of expertise in electromobility” québécois which has as its mission to facilitate the development of the electrification of transport.

“I made them part of my criteria and they have found a vehicle that suited me,” says Boily. Muze is occupied to transport the Volt to Quebec, to fill in the paperwork and make the necessary changes to its canadian registration. Total cost for André Boily: 22 000$ CAD, taxes included. “A Volt 2015 with 40 000 kilometres, in Quebec, you will find at the bottom of$ 24,000”, he says.

2015 Chevrolet Volt

A question of offer

Pascal Gosset, President and ceo of Muze, confirms that the price of an electric vehicle used is often lower than in the United States that Quebec, even with the current exchange rate.

“It is a question of offers, simply,” he explains. The electric cars of opportunity are very rare in Quebec.” In the United States, thanks to a fleet of larger vehicles, Mr. Gosset is able to find vehicles more affordable.

The paperwork to adjust does not come without a hassle, but after import dozens of vehicles, Mr. Gosset now knows the process like the back of his pocket. Remains that according to him, the restrictions on the import of an american car in Canada remain quite severe. “Especially to be eligible for the grant of the government of Quebec.”

Nissan Leaf

Nissan

Financial aid interesting

The grant in question, it is a financial aid of$ 4000 that Quebec provides to people who purchase an electric vehicle of opportunity of the years 2014 or 2015 who have never been registered in Quebec.

In place since last April, this grant is in addition to a range of incentives aimed at bringing together 100 000 electric vehicles on the province’s roads by 2020.

If financial assistance in the purchase of a fuel-efficient vehicle nine also extends to hybrid models and plug-in hybrid, the grant of$ 4000 granted for used vehicles is restricted to models with fully electric. The Chevrolet Volt, André Boily, for example, does not qualify since it is equipped with a gasoline engine serving as a generator to the electric motor.

In addition to this restriction, the financial assistance granted by the government comes with a variety of conditions. The vehicle covered must include:

– Be required to be purchased or leased from a car dealership
– Be registered for the first time in Québec during the transaction
– To be sold with an extended warranty of at least 3 years or 40 000 km

That’s not a problem, this financial assistance provides certainly the desire for some consumers to turn to electric vehicles from elsewhere, believes Pascal Gosset. As of December 31, last, however, only 319 Quebec were cast.

“The project ends theoretically on the 31st march next, but it is hoped that it will be renewed,” Mr. Gosset. If this is the case, an inclusion of templates, plug-in hybrid would be welcome.

For now, here is the list of models eligible for the grant for used vehicles:

BMW i3
Chevrolet Spark EV
Ford Focus electric
Kia Soul EV
Mitsubishi i-MiEV
Nissan Leaf
Smart Fortwo electric
Tesla Model S (credit of$ 1500 on some models which the new value is less than 125 000$)