Tesla’s Model 3 now qualifies for Ottawa’s electric vehicle rebate program.SeongJoon Cho / Bloomberg Tesla has announced that it will be dropping the retail price of its popular Model 3 electric vehicle to $44,999 in Canada, in a move that appears to just barely qualify the car for a $5,000 government incentive for green vehicles. The incentive was announced in the federal budget in March, and starting May 1 car buyers can take advantage of the subsidy. When the subsidy was first announced, it looked as though Tesla vehicles — the most popular electric cars on the market — would fail to qualify because Ottawa would only offer subsidies for vehicles with a price tag of less than $45,000, and in March the Tesla Model 3 was listed for $47,600. But in the past couple months, it appears that Tesla has gotten creative with its vehicle pricing to qualify for the rebate. The company is now selling a Model 3 vehicle with a range of just 150 kilometres, far less than the 386-kilometre range listed for the standard base model. That new ultra-short-range model comes in at $44,999. But the price-tag contortionism doesn’t stop there. The federal program specifies that vehicles with a base price of less than $45,000 qualify, even if they have add-ons of up to $10,000, bringing the total price of the vehicle to $55,000. This means that a standard Tesla Model 3 with a retail price of $53,700 will also qualify for the rebate. The federal government appears to endorse this pricing scheme because the Model 3 is now officially listed among the vehicles that qualify. John Zhang, an analyst with research firm IDC, said that Tesla is going out of its way to convince customers that they absolutely should not buy the 150-kilometre car. “The 150 km range is really just a deterrence that Tesla is trying to create in order to minimize the number customers purchasing these 150-km range Model 3s. Because there needs to be a base model that’s under the $45K mark in order for the higher-priced variant to qualify for the rebate as well, that’s essentially what Tesla did,” Zhang said. “Another piece of evidence that Tesla is deterring customers to buy this model is that you can’t order that specific car online. The order needs to be placed either over the phone or at a Tesla store. So essentially, Tesla wants customers to purchase the higher priced Standard Range Plus model, which has a range of 386 km.” Zhang also said that the 150-km version actually ships with the same battery pack as the 386 km version, and the range is only limited by a software lock, so customers can pay to upgrade their car after purchase. We can’t help but wonder how much that unlocking will cost, and how long it takes before some entrepreneurial software engineers take matters into their own hands with cheaper third-party solutions. Zhang said this isn’t the first time Tesla has engaged in this kind of pricing. “Tesla did this in Germany before in a similar situation. From a policy standpoint, the fact that the rebate was excluding the best-selling electric car in Canada partially defeated the purpose of putting the incentive in the first place, which is to promote/increase EV adoption,” he said. “Now that the base Model 3 is included, it’s levelling the playing field and customers have another choice when making their purchase
Origin: Tesla gets creative with Model 3 pricing to qualify for federal electric vehicle rebates
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Mercedes-Benz GLC gets a facelift in New York
2020 Mercedes-Benz GLC CoupeDerek McNaughton / Driving What is it? The latest Mercedes-Benz GLC gets subtle visual tweaks and more power, as well as an enhanced infotainment system and yet more advanced driver aids. Already the company’s hot seller, Mercedes says it “sets benchmarks for ride, handling, safety technology, and of course, off-road capability.” That pretty much sums it up with but two very big exceptions — the AMG versions. Why does it matter? The GLC 300 gets a 2.0-litre turbo-four with 255 horsepower (up 14) and 273 lb.-ft. of torque. However, the AMG GLC 43 gets a 3.0L twin-turbo V6 under the hood, which gives the driver access to 362 horsepower and 384 lb.-ft. of torque. It works with a nine-speed twin-clutch transmission to drive all four wheels. The brute-ute is the AMG GLC 63. It has a 4.0L twin-turbo V8 with a thundering 469 horsepower and 479 lb.-ft. of torque. Now for most prospective punters that is, to state the obvious, going to be ample. However, for those with the need for some real speed the AMG GLC 63 S bumps the output to 503 horsepower and 516 lb.-ft. of torque. When will Canada get it? The refreshed GLC 300 will arrive late summer, followed by the GLC 63 S in late fall or early winter. Should you buy it? While the popular model is going to be the GLC 300 with its peppy 2.0L four, it’s tough to ignore the two elephants in the room — thunderous performance to match what promises to be an equally thunderous exhaust. How sweet it
Origin: Mercedes-Benz GLC gets a facelift in New York
2019 Mazda CX-5 finally gets a diesel for North America
2019 Mazda CX-5 dieselHandout / Mazda What is it? Mazda’s long-awaited diesel finally arrives in Canada. Why does it matter? Mazda has been trying to bring its oil-burner to our shores for years. There’s been all sorts of theories — I’m not sure if they actually qualify as conspiracies — as to its long delay: a lack of performance, not enough reliability or simply not enough production capacity. My personal theory is that Mazda wanted to emulate what they thought was Volkswagen’s ability — illusory, as it turns out — to reduce NOx emissions without having to inject urea into the engine. If VW could do it, surely so could the engineers from Hiroshima. We know how that story ended. Whatever the reason for the delay, Mazda swears its 2.2-litre turbodiesel is really coming this time and it will first appear in the Signature version of its compact CX-5 crossover. Said Skyactiv-D is said to pump out 168 horsepower and an even more stout 290 lb.-ft. of torque, while sipping fuel at a pretty-darned-low-for-an-SUV 8.5 L/100 kilometres overall. Sensing some hesitance amongst potential buyers, Mazda devoted an entire paragraph of its press release to meeting North American emissions regulations, noting that it adopts “special combustion control software and exhaust treatment to meet the strictest emissions regulations” and that the company “worked closely with all proper federal and state agencies in the U.S., such as the EPA and CARB, to ensure the Skyactiv-D 2.2 engine passes all appropriate regulations.” Paranoid much? When is it coming? Possibly later this summer, if summer ever arrives. Officially, all Mazda says is the second half of 2019. Should you buy it? I drove an early version of the Skyactiv-D 2.2 some years ago and it was an impressive piece of kit, free revving for a diesel and plenty torque, to boot. One presumes it has only gotten better in the ensuing three or four years. Better late than never, I suppose, and I suspect that if the Skyactiv-D proves popular in this little crossover, we’ll see it in other “Signature” Mazdas as
Origin: 2019 Mazda CX-5 finally gets a diesel for North America
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