Through Plug’n Drive, drivers can now receive $1,000 to ditch their gasoline car, in addition to another $1,000 towards the purchase of a used EV

Plug’n Drive, a Toronto-based non-profit, has announced a new initiative offering Ontario drivers looking to go electric $1,000 to have their gas vehicles scrapped and recycled. The program is offered in tandem with Plug’n Drive’s Used Electric Vehicles Incentive, announced last year, which offers an additional $1,000 towards the purchase of a used electric vehicle.

The car being scrapped must be currently registered and insured in Ontario by the driver purchasing the used EV.

In order to qualify for the scrappage program, a driver must first attend an information seminar and test drive at Plug’n Drive. They then have up to one year to purchase a used EV, at which point they will receive the $1,000 used-EV incentive and can register to have their old car scrapped.

The car being scrapped must be currently registered and insured in Ontario by the driver purchasing the used EV. Once a vehicle is deemed eligible for the program, it will be picked up and recycled at no cost to the driver.

Funded privately

As with the Used EV incentive, the scrappage program is presented by Plug’n Drive in collaboration with the Clean Air Partnership and funded privately by the M.H. Brigham Foundation. The scrapping process is performed by the Automotive Recyclers of Canada, who ensure a responsible recycling process and the retiring of the car’s VIN.

Unlike Quebec and British Columbia, Canada’s two next-largest provinces, Ontario does not offer a financial incentive to purchase an electric vehicle. The only incentive available to new EV buyers in the province today is the $5,000 federal rebate, introduced last May. The month before that, Plug’n Drive launched the first phase of its Used EV Incentive plan. Through December, Plug’n Drive says more than 300 Ontario drivers had completed the program and bought a used EV.

“It has been hugely popular,” says Cara Clairman, President and CEO of Plug’n Drive.

On the west coast, SCRAP-IT, a joint provincial and private sector program, offers a similar initiative for B.C. drivers looking to go electric. Those willing to scrap their vehicles can receive a $3,000 incentive towards the purchase of a used EV, $6,000 towards a new EV, or $850 off the purchase of an electric bike. As of 2020, over 49,000 drivers had benefitted from the initiative.

“ [The Used EV Incentive] program has helped people to get into a very affordable electric vehicle, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving money.” 

– Cara Clairman, Plug’n Drive President and CEO

There are other scrappage programs in Canada, such as Retire Your Ride, but none offer a set figure for specified purchase of an electric vehicle.

More cost-accessible

A major aim of the initiative is to make EV ownership more cost-accessible, due to the relatively high price point of many new EVs. 

“Certainly we heard from many consumers that they would love to drive an EV but they believed EVs to be too expensive,” said Clairman.

“This program has helped people to get into a very affordable electric vehicle, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and saving money.”