One of the reasons that Canadians are not buying more ZEVs is because their selection is very limited. For example, the legacy automakers are selling ZEVs in Europe that they are not offering in Canada (or in the United States). In Europe, six Ford ZEVs are currently available for purchase, and two of them are available in different versions. The Mustang Mach E is a ZEV version of the Ford Mustang. The Ford Explorer EV, which has nothing in common with the ICE model sold in North America, is a ZEV Sports Utility Vehicle. The Ford Capri is a mid-sized ZEV sedan. The Ford E-Tourneo Courier is a ZEV that looks like a cross between a larger Sport Utility Vehicle and a van. Ford sells three different variations of it. Ford also sells two variations of the E-Transit, which looks more like a ZEV version of a van.1 Of these six ZEVs (plus variations of two of them), only the Mustang Mach E is readily available in Canada, although Ford also sells a ZEV pickup truck called the Ford F-150 Lightning. If Canadians had a wider selection of ZEVs to choose from, they would be more likely to find a ZEV that meets their needs, leading to an increase in ZEV sales.
Demand is not the problem: Automakers are not offering the affordable ZEVs Canadians want to buy
Not everyone wants a luxury car loaded with features. If you have the impression that ZEVs are expensive, you’re not wrong. But it doesn’t have to be this way! It turns out there are lots of affordably-priced ZEVs on the market – just not in Canada.
Clean Energy Canada recently called attention to the issue, noting that, “Europe enjoys 21 electric vehicles selling for less than $40,000 Canadian. Only one of them is available in Canada.”2 The $40,000 price point is an important number because a recent survey showed that, “only 27% of respondents are willing to spend more than $40,000 on a new EV, whereas a car coming in under $40,000 drastically increases the pool of potential buyers to roughly half the population (49%).”3 Price remains the biggest barrier dissuading people from buying a new EV, with costs cited by 64% of respondents to a recent poll.4
Of the 21 affordable EVs available in Europe, seven are from Chinese automakers, 10 are European, three are Japanese, and one is South Korean.
American automakers also sell EVs in Europe that they do not offer in Canada, though they sell for more than $40,000. For example, Ford sells an Explorer EV (which has little in common with the gas-powered model sold in North America) and a new Capri mid-sized sedan will be offered soon. Reportedly, “battery powered versions of the Puma crossover and Tourneo Courier van are also in the works.”5
Canadians overwhelmingly support a more open market with more affordable EV options, with 70% saying that Canada should allow vehicles approved in Europe to be sold here.6 Some are calling on the federal government to ease regulations to accept European vehicle standards, noting that a free trade agreement already exists between Canada and the European Union. 7
1 Ford of Europe, Ford Media Centre. Retrieved on 22 September 2025 from https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/feu/en/products.html
2 Clean Energy Canada, “Missing Out”, September 2025. Retrieved on 20 September 2025 from: https://cleanenergycanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/MissingOut-V5.pdf.
3 Clean Energy Canada, “Missing Out”, September 2025. Retrieved on 20 September 2025 from: https://cleanenergycanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/MissingOut-V5.pdf.
4 Little, Simon and Alissa Thibault, “Support for electric vehicle mandates softening in B.C., poll suggests”, Global News, 25 August 2025. Retrieved on 20 September 2025 from: https://globalnews.ca/news/11348970/ev-mandate-poll-bc-opposition/.
5 Dnistran, Iulian, “Ford Backs Off EV-Only Strategy In Europe By 2030: ‘It Was Too Ambitious’, Inside EVs, 19 July 2024. Retrieved on 20 September 2025 from: https://insideevs.com/news/727216/ford-ev-sales-portfolio-2030/.
6 Clean Energy Canada, “Poll: Large majority of Canadians favour more open car market with better access to affordable Chinese and European EVs”, 11 June 2025. Retrieved on 20 September 2025 from: https://cleanenergycanada.org/poll-large-majority-of-canadians-favour-more-open-car-market-with-better-access-to-affordable-chinese-and-european-evs/?trk=public_post_comment-text.
7 Murray, Nick, “EV advocates call on Ottawa to ease regulations on European vehicles”, The Canadian Press, 16 September 2025. Retrieved on 20 September 2025 from: https://www.nsnews.com/national-news/ev-advocates-call-on-ottawa-to-ease-regulations-on-european-vehicles-11219654.