Ontario taxpayers subsidized buyers of $1.1 million Porsche 918 Spyder
Government shelled out nearly $800,000 in rebates for cars with six-figure price tags
Ontario taxpayers subsidized five drivers to buy the
Porsche 918 Spyder, a plug-in hybrid car that retailed for about $1.1
million.
CBC News has learned that five Ontario drivers received funding through the province's Electric Vehicle Incentive Program in 2015 for buying the Porsche 918, which retailed in Canada at about $1.1 million.
Documents obtained by CBC News show the taxpayer-funded rebates to five Porsche 918 Spyder buyers in Ontario averaged $5,538 each.
"Why are we subsidizing luxury vehicles for millionaires?" asked Christine Van Geyn, Ontario director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, in an interview with CBC News. "If you can afford a Porsche Spyder you probably don't need a $5,000 subsidy from regular folks."
Ontario taxpayers shelled out just over
$362,000 in incentives to 64 buyers of the BMW i8, a car that currently
retails at $150,000 in Canada. (BMW)
"If anybody's paying that amount of money for a car, they probably don't need a $5,000 rebate, I get that," Wynne told reporters in Hamilton.
Wynne noted that her government recently changed the rules for its electric vehicle incentives, so cars that retail for more than $150,000 are no longer eligible for rebates.
"We have refocused the program to make sure that it's targeted at the most efficient technologies and affordable vehicles," she said.
Porsche manufactured only 918 of the Spyders for distribution worldwide, and they sold out within a year. A used Porsche 918 Spyder with 355 kilometres on the odometer is currently for sale from a Montreal dealership for $2,050,000.
Dragon's Den judge Michael Wekerle is seen in his Porsche 918 Spyder in 2014. (Michael Wekerle)
Few electric vehicles were on the market when Ontario's incentive program was launched in 2010, said Transportation Ministry spokesman Bob Nichols in a statement. "The program's objectives at this time were to support the adoption of electric vehicles and to incentivize early adopters," he said.
"The whole program should really be scrapped," said Van Geyn. "We don't need to incentivize people to be buying these cars. It just doesn't make any policy sense."
The documents obtained by CBC News reveal that Ontario taxpayers have subsidized the buyers of other cars with six-figure price tags.
- $362,032 in incentives to 64 wealthy Ontarians to buy the BMW i8, a car that currently retails at $150,000 in Canada.
- $212,500 in subsidies to 25 drivers to buy the Fisker Karma (retail price: $103,000 US, or roughly $130,000 Cdn ).
- $170,000 in rebates to 20 buyers of the Tesla Roadster Convertible (retail price: $109,000 US, or roughly $138,000 Cdn).