Latest news with #HuwWilliams
CTV News
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
Automobile Dealers Association remains ‘optimistic' as Stellantis delays Windsor auto production
Watch Huw Williams from Canadian Automobile Dealers Association says he is 'optimistic' about Stellantis' commitment in producing vehicle in Canada.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
New report exposes Tesla's $30 million EV rebate loophole: 'Tesla gamed the system'
A new report by The Toronto Star alleges that Tesla dealerships manipulated the Canadian government system to claim tens of millions of dollars in electric vehicle rebates for cars some say it may have never sold. According to the Star, Tesla cheated more than 200 auto dealers out of an estimated $10 million in reimbursements from the government for EV rebates. The four Tesla showrooms in Canada reportedly claimed more than 8,600 EV sales in the final 72 hours before the rebate program was set to run out of funds. They filed for $43.1 million Canadian ($30 million USD) in rebates — more than 50% of the $71.8 million in public subsidies left. That left independently owned dealerships to foot the bill for 2,295 EV rebates given to customers, per the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association. CADA spokesperson Huw Williams told the Star that one dealership lost nearly $700,000 because it could not file paperwork before the program shut down. Another dealer was out of pocket $410,000 and considered layoffs to recoup some of the money. Some dealers who were able to submit rebates before the online claims portal closed still haven't been reimbursed more than a month later. "Tesla had a run on the bank," Williams said. "Somehow, Tesla gamed the system. What we can't figure out is how this could have happened without setting off alarm bells." If dealerships are out millions of dollars, it will affect their ability to buy new cars, causing them to potentially raise prices on existing inventory to cover the losses. With fewer electric vehicles on the lots, customers may be deterred from buying one, especially with no rebates offered. "The deal's done and we're shy that money," Terry Budd, who owns eight car dealerships in Canada, told the Star. "Nobody can tell us whether we're going to be paid or not." The incident also doesn't reflect well on Tesla, which has been in the spotlight recently for numerous issues, including plummeting vehicle sales and stock prices, failed safety inspections on Model 3s, and major problems with its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving features. And that is on top of CEO Elon Musk's controversial political activities. Do you think Tesla's vehicles have lost some of their appeal? Definitely No way Some models — but not others For some drivers — but not others Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The questioned EV rebate grab may further impact sales and discourage the continued adoption of eco-friendly EVs, leading to more planet-warming pollution from gas-powered cars. According to the Star, the federal government is investigating the incentive filings. "I am disappointed," Transport Minister Anita Anand said. "This report is unacceptable and I am asking the department that is responsible for administering this program to provide me with detailed and complete information." However, Transport Canada, which oversees the rebate program, said it's unclear if Tesla did anything wrong. Electrek reported that the company told Transport Canada the rebate cash grab is a "standard process," and the incentives were for backlogged applications — though the way Williams and dealers like Budd tell it, that isn't entirely able to explain the dire financials that may bankrupt some independent small businesses. As far as EV rebates, CBC said some provinces and territories still offer them despite the federal program ending. If you live in the United States, you can claim the $7,500 EV tax credit with the purchase of select models of Teslas and other electric vehicles that meet certain American-assembled criteria. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla's $43M in Canadian EV rebate claims raise alarm as competitors demand answers
Auto dealers and the Canadian public 'deserve answers' for Tesla's flurry of rebate claims during the final three days of Canada's Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles program, according to Huw Williams, director of public affairs for the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA). The U.S.-based EV maker filed 8,669 rebate claims worth $43.2 million Jan. 10-12, according to data from Transport Canada. The legion of claims helped empty government coffers of incentive funding and left 226 franchised dealers on the hook for at least 2,295 unpaid government rebates, worth up to $5,000 apiece, Williams said, before some automakers stepped in to lend assistance. Chaotic end to Canada's EV rebate program leaves buyers, dealers in limbo 'We don't know the mechanics. We don't know if there's malfeasance. We don't know if somebody was tipped off. We don't know if it's gaming the system. But we do know that there's nothing normal about that amount of claims over that short a period of time.' Tesla did not respond to request for comment. Sign up for Automotive News Canada Breaking Alerts and be the first to know when big news breaks in the Canadian auto industry. The automaker's weekend filing frenzy, first reported by the Toronto Star, kicked off Jan. 10, when Transport Canada warned stakeholders that the iZEV program was running low on funding and likely to conclude sooner than its expected March 31 end point. The government warning set off what amounted to a run on the program. While corporately owned Tesla stores were the primary actors, they weren't alone. Nearly 500 dealerships submitted thousands of claims and pre-approvals to the iZEV portal Jan. 11 and 12, according to Transport Canada. As funding ran dry Jan. 12, the government department shut down the submission portal. It informed dealers that the program's funding pool had been fully exhausted and no further claims would be accepted a day later. Tesla accounted for 88.7 per cent of the 9,782 claims made in the final three days of the program, with all other brands registering 1,113 claims, according to government data. That's a stark difference from the breakdown of iZEV claims throughout 2024. While Tesla led the way among brands for the year, it recorded only about 20 per cent of total claims. Transport Canada gave dealers relatively wide latitude when submitting claims, though advised dealers to begin the claims process and receive a pre-approval from the department 'before the delivery of the vehicle and providing an incentive.' CADA CEO Tim Reuss told Automotive News Canada in January that dealers did not typically submit claims in real time, but filed them in batches every week or so, Some dealers established firm processes for filing claims — when a vehicle built abroad arrived at the Port of Vancouver, for instance. Others waited until after delivery, or after a handful of claims built up, putting them in a precarious position in January when iZEV funds ran out. To provide consumers the rebate, dealers applied the incentive directly on the vehicle's bill of sale. Transport Canada then typically reimbursed the dealer within 20 business days of the purchase being validated. Notably, the claims submitted by Tesla and other dealerships Jan. 10-12 do not necessarily reflect sales or deliveries in that timeframe. The claims captured by Transport Canada's data, reported monthly, reflect the date the claim enters the government's system. They may be paid or be in processing. Tesla also has a history of clustering its claims, though not previously on the level reached in the iZEV program's final days. During Ottawa's previous two fiscal years, the automaker made several large sets of claims in short spans of time, topping 1,000 claims in three-day stretches in several instances. In one particularly busy period in August of 2023, Tesla made 5,653 rebate claims over five days. Transport Canada would not directly address whether it is investigating Tesla's large volume of claims in the lead up to the iZEV program's end. But that doesn't mean the rebates have been paid. Spokesperson Sau Sau Liu said the department 'continues to assess the large batch of claims submitted by dealerships' after the announcement of the program's pause. CADA's Williams said while Tesla's staggering number of claims 'need answers,' ensuring dealers are reimbursed for incentives provided to consumers is the organization's primary focus. Several dealers are out hundreds of thousands of dollars, he added, putting local jobs on the line. In the past two months, Transport Canada has softened its stance on reimbursing dealers who sold rebated vehicles to consumers but did not file the paperwork in time. In February, the department told Automotive News Canada that dealers who had not begun the claims process would not be eligible to receive the incentive. By mid-March, Liu said Transport Canada 'is examining all possible options for dealerships who did not submit their eligibility application before the deadline.' Williams said Transport Canada should be looking to iZEV contingency funding, cash from Ottawa's undersubscribed Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty ZEVs program or returning to Parliament to appropriate more funds to ensure dealers are paid.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla Accused of Gaming Canada's EV Rebate Program
Much like the U.S., Canada too has an EV rebate program to encourage more car buyers to go fully electric. The program was so popular that it was set to shut down early, and many car dealerships are claiming Tesla pulled a possibly illegal stunt to take most of the program's remaining funds, which shut the program down even earlier. If true, it means Tesla created an unfair advantage to take over half of the CAD 71 million left in the program, leaving many car dealerships unable to get rebates they otherwise would have. In the waning days of the rebate program, it seems Tesla over-reported the number of cars it sold. Across four different Tesla dealerships in Canada, the company claimed it sold over 8,600 vehicles in three days. Since each EV sold earned a $5,000 rebate while the program was active, this resulted in over CAD 43.1 million headed Tesla's way. Mathematically, this means Tesla would have been selling 120 cars per hour—yes, two Teslas sold every minute—across all four dealerships, including the hours those Tesla dealerships were closed. That's two Teslas sold every minute, 24 hours a day, for three straight days. In Canada, rebates on EVs are dictated by the government and provided by dealerships. The discount is provided at the point of sale, and the Canadian government reimburses car dealerships afterward. Rebate applications must be filled out before the car is delivered. EVs sold well in Canada this year, and the program was set to be shut down early due to higher-than-normal rebate applications. Car dealers were selling EVs with the understanding that the program would come to a close early, but they were also under the belief that other dealerships were acting in good faith and selling cars normally—not two vehicles per minute, 24 hours a day. 'These dealers in good faith gave customers the money for a program that is always refunded,' said Canada Automobile Dealers Association spokesperson Huw Williams. 'They shouldn't be left making a payment on behalf of the Government of Canada.''Tesla had a run on the bank. Somehow, Tesla gamed the system.' Essentially, car dealerships knew funds wouldn't last as long as they'd expected, and with Tesla requesting so many rebates in such a short time, other dealerships could not successfully apply for rebates. It's believed car dealerships across Canada are out CAD 10 million or more. The National Post claims Tesla sales plummeted 70 percent from December 2024 to January 2025. That, coupled with the suspicious timing of Tesla's rebate requests - again, just before the program was set to expire - is curious. If Tesla is being honest, its sales hockey-sticked (pun intended, Canada) at precisely the right time. This sudden and incredible spike in sales also contradicts several reports that Tesla sales were down in Canada during this timeframe. Correlation isn't always causation, but this situation is suspect. It's not clear if Tesla sold the vehicles to actual people in Canada, supplied a fleet to skirt rebate laws, 'sold' its cars to U.S. dealerships just to get a rebate, or something else. We expect Canadian government agents to follow up on all those sales before issuing a CAD 43.1 million check to Tesla.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla Gamed The System To Steal Tens Of Millions In Canadian Incentives On The Final Day Of Eligibility
The Minister of Transport Canada is investigating Tesla after a mountain of suspicious rebate requests were filed in the final three days of Canada's iZEV government incentive program. As the program wound to a close last month, Tesla filed an incredible 8,600 sales in three days. In spite of severe backlash within Canada against Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his participation in the hostile U.S. Trump Administration, the electric car retailer claims that it sold more cars in Canada in the final three days of the $5,000 incentive program than it had in the entirety of the first quarter of 2024. According to the Toronto Star, Tesla claims to have shifted 8,653 units in a single weekend, with over 4,000 units delivered by a single location in Quebec City. The final-weekend play from Tesla netted the company more than $43 million in Canadian rebates, over half of the program's remaining budget. The program was scheduled to operate through mid-March, but by the end of January the government was warning that the program was running out of money. With that last blast of Tesla rebate requests, the system's cash reserves were gone. According to the Canadian Auto Dealers Association, the last-minute Tesla application bomb left some 2,300 cars with unreimbursed rebates. The dealers gave their customers the $5,000 rebate from the point of sale, but the program had run out of money and ended over the course of the weekend when government offices were closed, sticking the dealership collective with about $10 million in broken promises. CADA spox Huw Williams complained, "These dealers in good faith gave customers the money for a program that is always refunded. They shouldn't be left making a payment on behalf of the Government of Canada. Tesla gamed the system." Read more: Tesla Recalls Almost Every Car It's Sold In The US Tesla remains the most popular electric vehicle in Canada, though it has never been quite this popular. It stands to reason that the impending end of the incentive program would cause some people to pull up their purchases in order to get the rebate money, causing a run on electric vehicles in general. Tesla was expected to benefit more than any other manufacturer, but selling in these kinds of numbers after the brand's sales dropped some 70 percent between December and January in the country seems a little more than suspicious. It's difficult to say exactly what is happening here, but it does not seem at first glance that Tesla's claimed sales are genuine. We will have to wait until Transport Canada has concluded its investigation into Tesla and its sales claims in order to know for sure. Transport Canada has said that the iZEV program, which began in 2019, is merely paused rather than completely cancelled, though the country's next Prime Minister, Mark Carney, has indicated he would renew the program with further government funds. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
