Evaluation Summary — Evaluation of the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles Program and the Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles Program

Evaluation summary ‒ Evaluation of the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles Program (iZEV) and the Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles Program (iMHZEV)
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June 2026

Summary outlining the results of the Evaluation of the iZEV and iMHZEV Programs at Transport Canada.

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Background

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improving on-road decarbonization are key goals of the federal government. As passenger vehicles make up approximately 25% of Canada's GHG emissions, the federal government has aimed to support emissions reduction by mandating the sales of zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). As a result, the iZEV and iMHZEV Programs were introduced to improve ZEV uptake in Canada.

About the evaluation

The purpose of this evaluation was to examine the relevance, effectiveness, and efficiency/economy of the iZEV Program. It also examined the implementation to date, including the design and delivery, of the iMHZEV Program.

Program information

iZEV

  • Introduced in 2019
  • Targeted light-duty passenger ZEVs
  • Provided up to $5,000 at the point of sale for buying/leasing an eligible ZEV
  • Limit of one incentive per calendar year for individuals and 10 incentives per calendar year for businesses/organizations
  • Stackable with provincial/territorial incentives but not with business tax write-offs through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
  • Program ended in March 2025

iMHZEV

  • Introduced in 2022
  • Targeted medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs
  • Provided between $5,000 and $200,000 at the point of sale for eligible ZEVs in classes 2B to 8
  • Limit of 10 incentives or a value of $1 million in incentives per calendar year
  • Stackable with provincial/territorial incentives and with business tax write-offs through the CRA
  • Program ended in March 2026

Evaluation methods

  • 17 interviews
  • 30+ documents
  • Analysis of data from the ZEV Council dashboard, the ZEV portal, and Statistics Canada

Findings

  1. There was a need for a federal incentive program for light-duty ZEVs to increase ZEV adoption.
  2. The iZEV Program has contributed to the increase in ZEV uptake in Canada.
  3. There are several barriers that limit the uptake of ZEVs in Canada.
  4. TC’s collaborative work with other government departments, provinces/territories, and external organizations helped to ensure that ZEV policy was effective.
  5. The uptake of the iMHZEV Program was slower than anticipated because of the unique factors affecting the medium- and heavy-duty ZEV context.
  6. The point-of-sales incentive process worked well to provide incentives efficiently to consumers.
  7. Backlogs in iZEV incentive reimbursements to dealerships caused some dissatisfaction among participating dealerships.

Lessons learned

  1. More emphasis on ZEV awareness and knowledge building, especially within the trucking/freight industry, is needed.
  2. Keeping a thorough version history of any changes made to the claims process and operational improvements that resulted in efficiency gains would help ensure knowledge transfer to future incentive programs.
  3. Considering more targeted approaches for future ZEV incentive programs could help to promote affordability and reduce free-ridership.
  4. Implementing a government-wide dashboard would be beneficial to show progress toward larger on-road decarbonization goals, in addition to information on ZEV uptake.
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