Incentives for medium and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles

The Government of Canada knows that the higher upfront purchase cost of medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles (MHZEVs) can make it difficult to adopt this clean technology. The Incentives for Medium- Heavy-duty Zero-Emission Vehicles (iMHZEV) Program is helping to make it more affordable.

Purchase and lease incentives

The iMHZEV Program offers point-of-sale incentives for Canadian organizations and businesses (subject to funding availability) who buy or lease an eligible MHZEV. Only the vehicles listed on our website are eligible for an incentive when they’re purchased or leased for at least 12 months, on or after the eligibility date.

Find out which vehicles are eligible for an incentive, or a vehicle’s eligibility date

Before including a vehicle on the list of eligible vehicles, Transport Canada must review an application from the automaker and determine that the vehicle meets the iMHZEV Program requirements.

Eligible vehicles

To be eligible under the iMHZEV Program, a vehicle must:

• be a zero-emission vehicle (i.e., has the potential to produce no tailpipe emissions);
  • We consider the following to be zero emission vehicles:
    • Battery-electric;
    • Plug-in hybrid electric; and
    • Hydrogen fuel cell;
• be a medium or heavy-duty vehicle (i.e., have a gross weight rating greater than 8,500 lbs);
• meet all of Canada's Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, where applicable;
• be available for order/purchase/lease in Canada;
• be intended for use on public streets, roads, and highways or other paved surfaces;
• be registered in Canada in the eligible recipient organization’s name, where applicable; and
• for classes 2B and 3, be a medium-duty passenger vehicle (MDPV) with an MSRP equal to or below $100,000, or a commercial vehicle.
  • To be considered a commercial vehicle, the vehicle model must satisfy one or more of the following commercial vehicle criteria:
    • have a seating capacity of 9 passengers or more;
    • have a cargo area (for example, a pick-up truck box or bed) of at least 183 cm (72 in. or 6ft) in interior length; or
    • be a truck with container attachment capabilities (e.g., chassis cab, half truck).

Zero emission vocational on-road trucks (e.g., refuse or dump trucks) are eligible as are yard/shunt and drayage trucks. Zero-emission shuttle or coach buses are also be eligible.

Transport Canada may exclude certain types of vehicles from the program such as transit buses, school buses, recreational vehicles (RVs), or off-road vehicles.

Conversions (i.e., converting an existing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle to ZEV) are not eligible.

To be eligible under the iMHZEV Program, an eligible recipient organization must:

• be a Canadian Business / Organization with an office registered in Canada.

Only new MHZEVs are eligible for the federal incentive (in other words, vehicles that haven’t been registered before). Eligible MHZEVs that are demonstrators (a demo vehicle that buyers can test drive) are considered new vehicles and are eligible for the incentive as long as the odometer reads less than 10,000 km.

Incentives can be applied to eligible MHZEVs leased for at least 12 months but will be prorated (adjusted) based on the length of a lease less than 48 months. For example, a 48-month lease is eligible for the full incentive, while a vehicle with a 24-month lease will be eligible for half the incentive.

As long as a vehicle’s full description (the year, make, model, and configuration) appears on the list of eligible vehicles, an incentive can be provided, assuming all other eligibility criteria are met. A “configuration” is a pre-set package of equipment and finishes offered for a particular vehicle model. A vehicle model can have multiple configurations. Different configurations will usually have different prices.

There is a limit to how many eligible MHZEVs eligible Canadian organizations/businesses can purchase or lease under the iMHZEV Program. Businesses and provincial/territorial and municipal governments are eligible for up to 10 incentives (or a maximum of $1,000,000) under this Program in a calendar year.

Important: Transport Canada reserves the right to remove vehicles from the eligibility list if they no longer comply with program requirements.

Types of Incentives

The iMHZEV incentives are determined based on the characteristics of each eligible vehicle configuration. The incentive amounts are as follows:

Incentive Levels by Class

Commercial Vehicles

Vehicle Type	GVWR (lb)	Vehicle Examples	Maximum Incentive Amount
Class 7/8 Coach Bus, Class 8 FCEVs	26,001+ (11,794+ kg)	Coach bus, Fuel cell semi-truck	$200,000
Class 8 (350 kWh and up)	33,000+ (14,970+ kg)	Dump, cement, heavy conventional, sleeper	$150,000
Class 8 (under 350 kWh)	33,000+ (14,970+ kg)	Dump, cement, heavy conventional, sleeper	$100,000
Class 7	26,001 – 33,000 (11,794 – 14,969)	furniture, medium conventional	$100,000
Class 6	19,501– 26,000 (8,846 – 11,793)	Beverage, single-axle vans, rack	$100,000
Class 5	16,001 – 19,500 (7,258 – 8,845 kg)	Large walk-in, city delivery, bucket	$75,000
Class 4	14,001 – 16,000 (6,351 – 7,257 kg)	Large walk-in, conventional vans, city delivery	$75,000
Class 3*	10,001– 14,000 (4,537 – 6,350 kg)	Walk-in, conventional vans, city delivery	$40,000
Class 2B*	8,501 – 10,000 (3,856 – 4,536 kg)	Utility vans, full-size pick-ups, step vans	$10,000

* Class 2B and Class 3 vehicles must meet the Program’s commercial vehicle criteria to be eligible for the above incentives. Class 2B and 3 vehicles that do not meet these criteria will be considered medium-duty passenger vehicles (MDPVs) and are eligible for the following incentives subject to an MSRP cap of $100,000:

Medium-Duty Passenger Vehicles with MSRPs Equal To or Under $100,000

Vehicle Type	GVWR (lb)	Vehicle Examples	Maximum Incentive Amount
Class 3	10,001– 14,000 (4,537 – 6,350 kg)	Class 2B and 3 vehicles that do not meet the commercial vehicle criteria (e.g., pickups, large SUVs)	$5,000
Class 2B	8,501 – 10,000 (3,856 – 4,536 kg)

Of note, the Program will provide lower incentives for plug-in-hybrids at 50% of the full ZEV incentive per vehicle weight class, up to a maximum of $50,000. Class 2B short range plug-in hybrid vehicles (i.e., those with a battery capacity of less than 15 kWh) will be eligible for incentives at 25% of the full ZEV incentive amount. Additionally, Class 8 FCEVs will receive the maximum incentive amount of $200,000.

How to receive the incentive

The incentive will be applied at the point-of-sale by the dealership or other authorized sellers such as automakers and/or vehicle finishers/distributors. It will appear directly on the bill of sale or lease agreement on eligible medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs purchased/leased on, or after, the vehicles eligibility date. The dealer must apply taxes and fees to the purchase or lease before applying the incentive.

The dealer must submit the documentation required to be reimbursed for an incentive provided to an eligible recipient organization at the point-of-sale.

The federal incentive for eligible medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs will be applied in addition to any provincial or territorial incentive offered up to a maximum of 75% of the respective vehicles Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP).